My Heart, Unlock! A Shugo Chara! Fanfiction
by Kuku-chan
Summary: SET AFTER SHUGO CHARA DOKI DOKKI! Amu has just entered middle school, but she's not sure how it'll work out. Note: follows after the anime, NOT the manga.
1. First Day of Middle School!

**A/N:** Okay, I know there's going to be a few of you who'll like to point it out, but... Yes, I'm aware the manga goes further than just their graduation. Sadly... I have no mind to read the manga as of yet. I started and got up to about chapter 4, but then I got distracted by vectoring Miki, so... I've yet to finish it.

Therefore, this is going to follow more along the lines of the events in the ANIME [up to the end of Shugo Chara: Doki Dokki] and when they're in middle school. If you haven't seen up to at LEAST the end of Shugo Chara: Doki, then I wouldn't suggest reading this. There's probably going to be a select few, well, spoilers, at least.

As well... for those of you who are going to get on my ass about pairings and whatnot. Sorry, but I have none decided as of yet. I might be pairing people with OCs or with canons, but I'm not sure yet. I'm almost TOTALLY sure it's going to end up Tadamu or Amuto at some point, though. I love both pairings, for different reasons, so... yeah.

Anyway, enjoy reading! [man I babble alot...]

* * *

I was certainly doing a little more than just, well, "freaking out" I was absolutely appalled! I'd already received my new school uniform, and graduation had just been passing through my mind. It was a good thing that I'd had no homework over the spring break, or I would have had one too many things to deal with, not that I didn't already. I was still a little leery about the Guardians back at Seiyo, but at the same time, I was confident that Yaya and her mentor-role would be able to take care of Rikka and Hikaru. Now that Hikaru's Guardian Egg had been born, we didn't have too much worry as to who would take over the guardians.

At least, for the Queen's and probably King's Chair, along with Yaya as Ace's Chair. But who of the Jack's Chair? We couldn't ask Sanjou to come back, because he was in the same grade as the rest of us that had graduated... so he'd be attending middle school. Kuukai was already in middle school, and Nagihiko had graduated with us. I wasn't as much worried about my own position being filled as I was without having a Joker to deal with the X-Eggs. Maybe I'd be allowed some rest... At least, rest from having to chase them down during school hours.

"**Amu-chan!"**

Oh crap, no, I had to be hearing things. That had definitely _not_ just been the blonde, princely figure that was Hotori Tadase calling my name. Mentally, I flinched, physically stopping in my absent-minded walk towards the school. Turning around, I saw that I wasn't going to be able to console myself from his sparkling visage and personality; it was definitely Tadase, and when I looked into his eyes, he smiled. It was that bright, sparkling smile, the one that gave him that princely look.

As if I'd ever tell him that's how he looked. He'd then accidentally Chara-Change with Kiseki and become... A maniacal-seeming overlord.

"**T-T-Tadase-kun!"** I blurted out, feeling a light brush creeping up on my cheeks. I wasn't late for school, thankfully; I'd been so pumped about the day that I'd been almost in a rush to get out of the house. Now that I'd made part of the trek to the school, however, I was shaking in my shoes, only praying that my knees weren't rattling. If it hadn't been for Ran, Miki, Suu, and Dia, I probably would have fainted by now.

"**I thought it'd be a good idea if we walked together. Is that all right, Amu-chan?"** Even now, I still felt odd when he called me Amu-chan. I'd first grown so used to being referred to as Hinamori-san, and even still he called everyone else more formally than me. Yuiki-san, Mashiro-san, Fujisaki-kun... The only two other exceptions had been Hikari and Rikka... Probably because they were much younger than the rest of us. I paused for a moment, but didn't take long to contemplate my answer.

"**Sure, yeah, that's fine," **I replied, nervously rubbing the back of my skull. I'd outfitted myself even better, but still similar to my old uniform; our dress codes were still, well, "slack" as ever as they'd been in elementary, so I was able to accessorize well. I'd traded in my red skirt for a lovely green one, and my usual red tie was replaced with a green one. The skirt was plaid, of course, as was dress code; and with it came a pair of matching, green plaid legwarmers, the exact same style as my red ones from before. I'd been iffy about what to wear in my hair, as my red x-shaped barettes had always fit with my red uniform, but this time I'd gone a bit more neutral... And because it was a new day and I'd been happy about it, I'd worn the one Tadase had bought me a long time ago.

"**All right then,"** he replied, and we continued walking. I thought he looked pretty good, dressed in the new uniform that matched the one we'd all seen Kuukai wearing; while I thought the blue suited his princely presence a little better, green wasn't too bad, either.

"**There's certainly a nice atmosphere here,"** I heard an overly sarcastic yet unusually cute voice from behind us. If it hadn't been Rima, I probably would have blown a gasket and chased someone down. _Especially_ if it was El, Ran, Miki, Suu, or even Dia, and in that order, too. El would go on something about a love radar, Ran would probably laugh and giggle behind her pom-poms, Miki would state something articulate, Suu would say something... Overly positive, and Dia would either become her philosophical self or say something unusually... Silly? Ditzy? I wasn't sure which word fit better.

"**Good morning, Mashiro-san,"** Tadase greeted in his usual friendly tone.

"**Morning, Rima-chan,"** I added, and the short blonde sprinted at her Rima-pace, with Kusukusu following just behind her. **"I hope we're in the same class again,"** I added, making conversation to the both of them. Enough of being immersed in my own thoughts. I'd rather converse with everyone than wallow in my own sorry mind about life in general.

"**Morning, Amu, Tadase-kun,"** Rima replied, and Kusukusu greeted with her usual clown-like giggle.

"**OIII!" **The all-too-familiar voice of Souma Kuukai hollered over the distance, and the three of us turned around to see not only him, but a sprinting Nagihiko following behind.

"**Everybody's here!"** Ran squeaked loudly, flying around in a circle to display her praise.

"**It's good that everyone was able to meet up together,"** Suu added optimistically; Miki and Dia just smiled to everyone in general.

"**Yep; and Amu-chan even looks well accessorized. It certainly plays an artistic tune,"** Miki commented, nodding in her artistic way. Tadase noticed the hairpin briefly, and smiled.

"**Yes, the barette looks cute, Amu-chan,"** he commented, and flashed me a bright smile. I blushed a bright red, giggling nervously as always.

"**Oooooh, she's blushing~!" **Ran piped up, her tone obviously teasing.

"**Yes. Amu has a tendency to do that a lot around Tadase-kun." **Rima's sarcastic tendencies never failed; I blushed even harder, slightly embarrassed. Well, at least Tadase hadn't got a chance for one of his "frontal attacks" - as Ran, Miki, and Suu accordingly called them – on me, or I might have fainted in the middle of the sidewalk. _And fainted right into the prince's arms... Hey, that actually sounds like a good idea... Or maybe not,_ I mused, unsure how to continue the conversation at hand.

"**Th-th-that's not true at all!"** I quickly defended myself, and heard Tadase chuckle lightly. I really needed to stop being Miss Over The Moon around him, or I'd end up saying something dumb in the completely wrong situation. Kind of like how Ran had forced me to chara-change in the middle of the assembly on my first day at Seiyo and confess to him.

In reminder of that, I blushed even harder. Now I knew why I hadn't wanted to come to school today.

"**Oi, more middle-school friends I can hang around with now!"** Kuukai cheered as he and Nagihiko finally caught up to our three-man [ten if you included our Guardian Characters] group, followed by Daichi and Rhythm. Somehow, this whole thing felt a bit strange to me... And it was going to feel strange after school, too. Normally we all went to the Royal Garden for tea and our daily meeting... And if there were X-Eggs about, we would go take care of them. The rest of the Guardians would also take care of paperwork, while I usually served tea, since my job as the Joker didn't involve any of the paperwork or even having to wear the royal cape. Except at assemblies, of course. I'd worn it once, but only for an assembly, since that itself was required.

I sighed lightly, thinking about what was going to be missed, hardly attentive in the conversation at hand.

"**Yes, Souma-kun. Things are going to be a lot different now,"** Tadase added with a nod as we all continued walking.

"**Everyone'll make new friends, surely,"** Rima added, her tone speaking as if she knew from experience, and she sure did. Like me, she'd transferred from another school, without knowing anyone... Now that I thought about it, maybe things could change here. Maybe there wouldn't be as many rumors as there had been back at Seiyo. Things like me single-handedly defeating the Sakura Elementary soccer team... Being mistaken for "cool" and "spicy" when I was really just unsure of what to say in some situations...

"**Amu-chan? Is something wrong?"** I heard Tadase's voice break through my thoughts for about the billionth time today, and I quickly snapped to attention.

I shook my head. **"Not really,"** I replied, but he gave me a long look, appearing to press me into what I'd already planned to say. **"It's just that with being in middle school and all... We're no longer Guardians. I'm just so used to going to the Royal Garden after school, with our usual after-school meeting... Sometimes going before class, even... **

"**I'm just worried about what it's going to be like. Sure, we can manage without some of the chairs – Rikka's our new Queen's Chair, Hikaru is the King's Chair... Yaya's still Ace's Chair, but what of the Jack's Chair? And of the Joker's Chair? And even if Rikka used Open Heart with me before graduation... I just don't know if she'll be able to use it. We did have the power of the Humpty Lock on our side..."** As I spoke, I touched the Humpty Lock that was still hanging around my neck. As the Joker, I'd honorarily been given it when I'd joined the Guardians, because I had three Guardian Characters.

"**Now that you mention it,"** Nagihiko started.

"**We don't know what's going to happen at Seiyo. I think Yaya can handle things, and Rikka and Hikaru will be fine,"** Rima finished, looking at me from her considerably shorter position.

"**Rima's right,"** Tadase placed a hand on my shoulder to reassure me. **"Of course it's going to be different, but just because we're in middle school now doesn't mean we're going to stop hunting the X-Eggs."**

"**Never stopped me!" **Kuukai said, giving me a thumbs-up. **"Remember, Amu-chan? I still came back every now and again to lend a hand with Daichi. Just because you've no longer got the cape and the title doesn't mean you're not a Guardian anymore. I'm still the Jack's Chair, though former. You're still the Joker, Tadase's still the King, Nagihiko is also the Jack, and Rima's the queen."** With that Kuukai smiled, and I felt a bit better.

"**Don't worry about them, Amu-chan. They'll be fine."** I felt relief wash over me as Tadase made the final statement, and in response, I smiled.

"**Thanks, everyone. I guess we'll have to go check on things after school and hope nothing went wrong. I trust Yaya to take care of Rikka and Hikaru."**

"**Fight, fight, Yaya-chan! Yaya-chan can do it!"** Ran's usual cheering made us all laugh, and I just shook my head. Maybe something good would come of all of this after all...

* * *

I guess I'd spoken too soon, or at least, that was what I realized when I walked around after school. People were in huddles, whispering to each other. 'Isn't that Hinamori Amu?' ' From Seiyo Elementary, the cool-and-spicy student! I didn't know she'd just graduated!' 'I heard she took on the volleyball team with ease! And the soccer team, too!' 'Ohhh, she's so cool!'

All I could do in response... was shudder as I'd tried to read the class lists. I felt relieved to know that Tadase was in my class; it was reassuring to know that I'd at least know one person in the class. Rima and Nagihiko were in the other class, which would surely be a fun time for the both of them. Kuukai was, of course, in the older grades, but I was sure Kuukai knew people his own age. He'd already been here for a year, after all.

Sekai Middle School, however, still appeared to be a relative hell for me. It felt strange to see a teacher being so overly organized and strict... I was used to the fun-loving, clumsy Nikaidou-sensei, who'd also been a scary member of Easter before we'd caused him a change of heart. To be honest, I missed his clumsy nature a bit. Sure, he'd been our enemy, but he was more than funny, and he'd been more than helpful in a number of ways after he'd quit Easter.

In class, I was luckily seated not far from Tadase; in all actuality, we were right beside each other, in the back of the class. Even still there were whispers all around, and it could only be clear that I was a little put-out by them. Tadase looked confused as always, and if I looked over, he gave me an encouraging smile.

After class, I was no less sullen than I'd been when I'd heard the whispers going on.

"**I can't believe it... Even here, to?"** I spoke quietly, sighing as I did so.

"**What is it, Amu-chan?"** Tadase asked, having taken to standing next to my desk. As usual.. There were girls in our class gawking at him. It was only natural; to anyone, he gave off a very prince-like aura. Even I was affected by it... Much, at times, to my dismay.

"**The rumors. About how I'm someone I'm not, and how I've done things I haven't actually done,"** I said, my face turning into a frown. When we'd finally been dismissed, Tadase and I walked from the class and along the street, too immersed in our conversation to have worried about anyone else.

"**Well... That's just everyone else, Amu-chan. So long as your friends know who you really are, you have nothing to worry about. Right?"** His smile was encouraging as always, and I couldn't help but to smile back. I noticed now that we'd wandered to the park near our old elementary school... I remembered it. It was the park I'd sat on the swing in when I'd been angry with Ikuto screwing many things between Tadase and myself up. Sure, all had ended well between us, but I was still somewhat mad at Ikuto for hurting Tadase like that. Even now I still held the look I'd seen in his eyes with absolute grief, even if I'd explained the situation. I never wanted to see that agonizing, pained, and betrayed look ever again.

"**Right,"** I said, nodding, as I absently wandered over to the swing. I lightly swung on it, both hands resting in my lap. Tadase had taken the swing next to me, as I stared blankly at the ground.

"**Amu-chan?"**

I looked up towards Tadase, seeing that sparkling look he'd always get...

"**I love you, Amu-chan."**

...when he'd come with his frontal attack and say something like that. Instantly, I flushed red, feeling the heat on my face. I was speechless, but all he could do was smile and look at me with that sincere, truthful look in his eyes. His words echoed in my ears, as Ran, Miki, Suu, and Dia all chattered from wherever they were around the park.

"**Wow, Tadase's got that down to an art,"** Kiseki remarked, crossing his arms and nodding.

"**Yup. He's got Amu-chan all red and embarrassed again,"** Ran chuckled, nodding in agreement with Kiseki.

"**Amu-chan's definitely got blushing like crazy down very artistically, too,"**Miki added. Suu and Dia just smiled, while Ran cheered.

"**Fight, fight, Amu-chan! You can do it, Amu-chan! SPEAK YOUR MIND!"** Ran was going wild with her pom-poms, cheering me on better than an entire cheerleading squad. I, of course, didn't even notice them. I was too busy trying to calm the wildness of my own thumping heart as I tried to contain myself and make conversation. I couldn't help it; I had to look away from Tadase and, embarrassed as I was, I stared at my hands in my lap.

But soon... the whole frontal attack thing came again. It was the same thing Tadase had done only a few days ago... But the last time, we'd been on a bench, at the amusement park. This time, he used his feet to push the swing sideways... I felt his lips softly on my cheek, and instantly I wanted to faint. The blood rushed to my cheeks, but this time, I didn't scuttle away like I had [embarrassed] last time. As I felt him pull away, I glanced over; I could see that he was blushing a considerable amount, too. Even he couldn't look at me after doing that. I didn't blame him. I'd have probably fainted before I could even twitch after considering such a bold move.

But I realized something... This wasn't the confident would-be self of Tadase. He'd once told me he wanted to be more confident... And that he was too soft to be a proper leader. Now that I thought about it... He was confident, in his own way. I somehow wondered how he even had the guts to say things like he did to me, or kiss me on the cheek, or things like that... I would have asked, but I thought it would be awkward.

_Thank you, Tadase-kun... And... Congratulations._

* * *

**A/N: **Yeah, I couldn't help myself. I had to go with a Tadamu moment. I mean, with Ikuto gone, how're we supposed to have Amuto moments? I dunno, maybe I'll bring him back later on in the story for some reason or other. Don't worry, Amuto fans! I WILL find some way to bring a few Amuto moments in there. For now, it's Tadamu. Sowwies~

Anyway, yeah, I have a feeling this chapter dragged on. I didn't want to jump right into X-Eggs and all that crazy stuff in the very first chapter. I also kinda feel I ignored the Guardian Characters... But the point is to kind of focus on Amu, too, so... Yeah. I'll find something to do.

READ AND REVIEW PLEASE. I want to know how well I'm doing with the characters. :3 The only one I'm a little iffy about is Nagihiko... He's kind of a hard character to play. Even in Nadeshiko-mode. T_T

Kuku-chan out~~


	2. A New Face! Presidential Cousin!

**A/N:** That's right, Chapter 2 already! Yeah, I want to get this one up and going before I start waiting for a certain number of reviews before updating. 'cause otherwise, people won't have enough to read, right?

Well, at least someone reviewed before the update. You know who you are, so, yeah, kudos to you. :3

I also realized that Nagihiko only had 1 line of dialogue in the last chapter... so I gave him a considerable amount more. Yes, I know, Nagihiko's awesome; don't worry, I have things planned for him in later chapters.

Anyway, enjoy the new chapter. It's set directly after the cliffhanger Tadamu moment in the last chapter. ^^ A new face appears! :o who is she?!

* * *

I was stuck thinking about what was going to happen next – which included trying to remember how to speak like a normal human being – when Ran and Dia both flew over in a hurried frenzy, followed by Suu, Miki, and Kiseki. The moment I heard something about a bad feeling, I snapped to attention, standing up from the swing. Tadase did the same, and soon we heard the footsteps and panting of Kuukai and Nagihiko, followed by the short-legged, not-very-athletic Rima.

"**Nagihiko! Kuukai! Rima!"** I called, and both Tadase and myself ran from the park to follow behind them. They were following something... There was something, no, some_one_, dressed in white and leaping from rooftop to rooftop. It was a female, with short, bright silver-white hair – not like one would think on an elderly person, but a shimmering silver tone – reaching only to her chin in the front and back. Her shirt was short, only coming to about her middriff or so, and it was also a shade of white with a light to medium-grey trim. Her lower extremeties were clad in a pair of white stockings, underneath a plain, mid-thigh length skirt, accented finally by platform-like knee-high lace-up boots. Her arms had cobweb-like gloves on them, reaching to her mid-bicep. To top everything off was a white tail sprouting from her tailbone, and a pair of pristine-white cat ears atop her head.

She almost looked like a white, female version of Ikuto's Character-Transformed self. I was appalled.

"**Look!"** Nagihiko pointed, then looked to Rhythm and everyone else. With a consensus nod, we were all ready, ducking into a shaded section of the park.

"**My own heart... Unlock!"** We cried in unison, and I could feel that all too familiar energy creeping up within me. Soon, we were all transformed with our Guardian Characters; I myself had decided on Ran this time, as Amulet Heart's Heart Speeders would prove useful in trying to stay close. Now it was time for strategy. What was that girl up to?

"**Amu-chan, Souma-kun; the three of us will follow her across the rooftops. Rima-chan, Hotori-kun; the both of you follow that other feeling the Guardian Characters noticed."** There was the usual Nagihiko again; I didn't quite mind it when he "gave orders" like he did. I nodded to both him and Kuukai, and we took off. Kuukai and I both took to the skies, Kuukai using his board, and myself using my Heart Speeders. Nagihiko leaped from rooftop to rooftop, hot on the trail of the white-clad neko woman.

It was then that I realized what she was following; not far ahead were three X-Eggs, and her gaze seemed to be focused on them. That meant that how she looked had to be a Character Transformation, just like the rest of us; there was no other choice.

"**Nagihiko!"** I hollered, pointing ahead at the X-Eggs. I was fairly sure the both of us understood the strategy... I read the look in his eyes, and we nodded at each other in unison. Nagihiko would keep hot on her trail, while Kuukai and I chased to get ahead of her and get the X-Eggs, and hopefully head her off.

"**Tightrope Dancer!" **Rima's small voice carried over as he and Tadase both rappelled up one of the buildings ahead. The ropes shot out towards the woman, but she moved so gracefully... Moving this way and that, like an elegant dancer, she evaded the ropes and leaped high, stretching out towards the X-Eggs with an extended hand. Apparently spooked, the X-Eggs scuttled away, higher up. The moment the girl's feet touched the ground, she leaped even higher, her catlike reflexes giving her enough bounce to reach the eggs.

Nagihiko, however, was still hot on her trail, leaping at the same time that she did as if trying to stop her. It was then, however, that I stopped, wondering what was going on. Why were we trying to chase this woman down? Sure, she was hunting X-Eggs, but... Who was to say that her purpose was fell? Perhaps she was trying to purify them like we'd been, too.

"**Get out of my way!"** She cried, and I could tell she wasn't older than thirteen or fourteen; approximately Kuukai's age or so. Everyone stopped as she landed, all three of the X-Eggs in her arms, and turned to face Nagihiko, who'd landed close behind her. The X-Eggs wriggled out of her clutching arms, and she growled, almost catlike in her mannerisms. I could see now that her top was crossed, similiar to that of a kimono in the front, and that she wore a Zorro-like white mask, clearly to mask her identity. Her eyes were a shimmering green, and her bangs reached to just above her eyebrows.

"**Great. Now they're running away."** She seemed considerably annoyed, and her green eyes flashed dangerously for a moment. I flinched visibly, and then her eyes turned to me. Oh crap, she must have realized I was the ringleader... Which, in a sense, I was. Nagihiko might have been the brains, but... I was the trump card. She could probably tell by the three other Guardian Characters that were following behind me.

And then... She performed a backflip, and disappeared into the darkness of the alley.

"**What was with that?"** I asked as I landed beside Tadase and Rima, just behind Nagihiko. I didn't understand that girl's methods... She had to have been chasing the X-Eggs, but for what reason I had no idea. Soon we heard the sound of three voices, and I easily recognized them; they were the voices of Yaya and Rikka, who must have been chasing the X-Eggs.

"**Amu-chiii~!"** Yaya whined, running up to me. **"Where did the X-Eggs go?!"** She demanded, and I suddently felt a bit heated. We'd let the eggs get away... and since Miki – who could sense them the best, for some reason – hadn't said anything, I assumed they were long-gone.

"**They got away, Yaya; some girl clad in white stopped us. I don't know why she was chasing the X-Eggs, though,"** I stated, sighing, and a little distraught that we'd let the eggs get away. We'd let Yaya and the rest of the current Guardians take care of them, I guessed, even though I was still the Joker, and still carried the Humpty Lock. I pointed in the direction that the eggs had gone off in. **"They went that way, Yaya; we'll let you, Rikka, and Hikaru take care of them. Okay?"** I smiled genuinely, showing the confidence I had in Yaya. I caught the mentor's sparkle in her eyes, and she quickly jumped in the air.

"**Yeah! We'll bring 'em back for you, Amu-chi!"**

"**Oh, that remi--"**

I didn't get a chance to finish my sentence as Yaya and Rikka ran off and, releasing my Character Transformation with Ran, I sighed and hung my head. I'd totally forgotten that I was going to ask Rikka if she'd still be able to purify the Heart's Eggs... I mean, Open Heart didn't have to be used to purify them; I could use Remake Honey, or Platinum Heart with Tadase to purify them. I also knew that Rima and Nagihiko had some other method – of which we'd seen during our final battle with Easter – but I didn't know much about it other than the purification, of course. Utau could also purify them with Angel Cradle... But I knew nothing else other than those. If there was no other way to purify them, then... I'd probably still be needed in some way, shape, or form.

"**Don't worry about it, Amu-chan. I'm sure you'll get another chance to ask."** Nagihiko's words were reassuring, and I nodded with a smile.

"**But that brings us to another question,"** Kuukai started, a questioning look on his face. **"There was something up with that girl... and I think I recognize her from somewhere. The question is, what was she doing, chasing the X-Eggs?"**

* * *

I was surprised the next morning when I saw an average-height girl talking casually with Kuukai as we walked to school. I looked at her carefully... She appeared to have the same or a very similar hairstyle to the girl we'd seen yesterday, but this particular girl's hair was a shade of red. Like me, she was dressed in a pair of black shoes with white stockings, a green plaid pleated skirt, and a white top; however, she wore a bow tie and a matching green vest rather than the black jacket that I did. I knew what the vest signified; she was a member of the Student Council. But why would Kuukai be talking to a Council member?

The next thing I noticed was what was accompanying her. There was not only one, but _two_ Guardian Characters following her, kind of like how Utau had two. One was of a woman dressed in shades of brown, with a quiver hanging diagonally across her back, a bow resting over her shoulder, a blade by her ankle, and a blade on her waist. I don't know exactly what dream she represented, but it seemed a little odd to me. The other was a petite sorceress, dressed in a flowing cape-like cloak, wearing shades of medium and dark blue, with even a pointed hat to signify her magical status. She carried a short gnarled staff and appeared to very insightful and intuitive, much like Miki. The other seemed to be constantly on the lookout, probably for danger or something similar.

"**Tadase-kun,"** I said, my voice low enough that only he'd be able to hear, **"Who's that girl walking with Kuukai? She's a member of the Student Council, isn't she?"**

"**I believe so, yes,"** he replied, looking at her carefully. **"I think she's the Student Council president, actually, and Kuukai's cousin. I remember meeting her once."** I still had the feeling I'd seen her somewhere before... I wasn't sure when, but she just seemed too familiar. She appeared to be very bubbly and light-footed as well as optimistic, clearly showing her enthusiasm in talking to Kuukai. It wasn't hard to tell [once one knew, of course] that they were related.

"**She looks kind of annoying,"** Rima said from behind us, and I swear I jumped three feet in the air. Well, I found myself nearly clinging to a tree, and I could have sworn Rima had gained some new ghosting abilities or something. She was showing up out of nowhere!

"**G-G-Good morning, Rima,"** I said, my tone obviously shaky because she'd, literally, scared the bejeezus out of me. She didn't appear to be paying much attention, however; she looked like she was trying to burn holes in the back of the other girl's head. Clearly feeling she was being watched, the girl turned around, as did Kuukai.

"**Good morning, Souma-san,"** Tadase greeted, his tone friendly as always. Rima and I both said our good mornings, then looked towards the other girl questioningly.

"**Morning everyone,"** Kuukai replied with his usual enthusiastic smile. **"Guys this is my cousin, Mizushima Ayaka... Who's also the Student Council's president." **

"**Pleased to meet you all,"** the girl replied, her tone civil but appearing to be held back. She must've certainly been holding back her enthusiasm quite a bit, because she appeared rather jittery. Her hair was short, with her bangs cut over her face, with two strands reaching down to just her chin on either side. Behind her ears it was cut short and styled, making her look a bit like a pixie. Her eyes were a bright green, which made her red hair look as if it were flaming around two emeralds.

"**So Kuukai; one-on-one basketball after school? 'cause I can definitely take you on one-handed!"** Ayaka teased, punching him lightly in the arm. Kuukai laughed, but rubbed the back of his head.

"**Ah, I don't know; 'teach piled some homework on yesterday, and is probably going to do the same tomorrow," **Kuukai said, and could see Ayaka's puffed cheeks in her attempt to change his mind. **"I do know someone who'd probably play a round against you, though,"** he continued, as she raised an eyebrow and tilted her head. Well, I could definitely say the girl was animated... All she needed was a fairy costume and she'd be the perfect little pixie.

"**Oh really, Kuuku~?"** She queried, obviously using a nickname for him. Kuukai seemed a bit embarrassed by the nickname, and I didn't blame him; it sounded kind of feminine, actually. **"And who might this be?"**

"**Oiii! Nagihiko!"** Kuukai called down the street, waving like crazy with his free hand. Ayaka followed his gaze to see Nagihiko, and again she raised an eyebrow. He looked pretty feminine... But at the same time, somehow masculine. It was an interesting paradox.

"**Morning, everyone,"** Nagihiko greeted as he walked up, then raised an eyebrow at the apparent newcomer in their group. **"Ayaka? The Student Council's president? What're you doing here?"** Now that I thought about it, her name did ring a bell; I'd seen her on the class list for Rima's and Nagihiko's class. How had she managed to make president of the Student Council when she was only in her first year? She must've had good honors from her elementary school, if that was the case.

"**Oh, right, I forgot; didn't mention Kuukai was my cousin, did I?"**

"**No. You didn't actually tell us much of anything."** There was Rima and her usually sporadic comments again. So Rima had met her, too? It probably had something to do with the fact that she also had Guardian Characters. Kusukusu giggled in response.

~~~~~~~~~~~~**The Guardian Characters**~~~~~~~~~~~~

"**Ahah! More commoners to serve me!"** Kiseki pronounced, glad to meet these two new people.

"**At your service, Kiseki-sama,"** the bow-wielding one spoke first, falling to one knee. Well, this was certainly a surprise; nobody _ever_ appeared to pay much attention to Kiseki in the first place.

"**Oh great. That's just going to boost his already over-inflated ego even more,"** Miki stated, her tone rather flat. Ran and Suu both sighed, and Dia just looked a bit confused about it all. Kusukusu, as always, replied with a giggle.

"**And what is your name, servant?"**

"**I am more than a mere servant, Kiseki-sama,"** she spoke again, raising herself back up to a standing position, even if they were, well, floating in the air. **"I am a warrior, fated to protect my king, even if it means my life. I am also fated to follow in the footsteps of my owner, Ayaka, no matter where she may go. I am called Yumi."** Kiseki's face beamed in happiness; he was generally ignored.

"**I am glad that you recognize your king, Yumi!"**

Yumi frowned for a moment, her face appearing to scoff. **"I never said you were my King. You have yet to earn my trust to be considered my King. For now, you are a comrade."**

"**She's a little more abrasive than I'd thought,"** Ran stated, then puffed up her pompoms. **"Fight, fight, Yumi-chan! You can do it, Yumi-chan!"** The archer didn't look in her direction, but the other one, who resembled a sorceress, flew up to the four Guardian Characters that belonged to Amu. Quietly she observed them over, her attention appearing to focus the most on Miki and Dia.

"**Intuitive, insightful... Your name must be Miki. And you... You seem philosophical, yet lack a certain understanding of many happenings... Due to having spent a shorter time... Your name is Dia, is it not?"** In unison, everyone else beamed, awed by the Guardian Character's absolute insight. **"I am Fugeki."**

"**You're on! After school, basketball court. I'll shoot so high it'll fly around the world and back into the basket!"** Ayaka was obviously pumped for the one-on-one basketball match she'd been challenged to – or rather, had challenged Nagihiko to – after class, and although it was for fun, Ayaka wasn't about to quit being competitive. Nagihiko chuckled lightly at her enthusiasm, but smiled back his own confident smile.

"**That is, if I can't jump and catch it before it goes past me,"** he replied, and Ayaka chuckled back. I could still feel that there was something different about this girl... Something else. It almost seemed sinister... Or was my mind just overrreacting again?

* * *

**A/N:** Well, hope everyone enjoys the new chapter. I'll get into the basketball scene in Chapter 3, but I wanted to get this up before it dragged on even more. And yes... I had to insert the small Guardian Character excerpt. I can't help but poke fun at Kiseki! He's just so... egotistically chibi. It's irresistably funny. 'specially because his ego inflated dramatically and was summarily popped worse than a giant party balloon. :3

READ AND REVIEW PLEASE!!!!!

Kuku-chan out~


	3. Flash Powder and Basketball!

**A/N:** All right everyone, that's right! I'm going to try to do an update every day for the first little while, if at all possible... It's not like I don't have the time :3

Thing is, I don't know how long this story's going to go. It's probably going to be a pretty long one, since I've got a lot of things planned plot-wise. I hope nobody minded I gave Kuukai a cousin; I'd wanted her to be related to someone, and well, a sibling would be inherently dumb, so, cousin, yeah. I think she's more like his unofficial annoying little sister anyway...

Good god, we need to put her in a chapter with his brothers.

ANYWAY. On to basketball!

* * *

The minute that Ayaka had challenged Nagihiko to a round of one-on-one basketball, I had somehow known the outcome was going to be very, very interesting. Not surprisingly, I spent the entire day looking forward to it after school; I just hoped there wouldn't be a huge crowd watching, otherwise it wouldn't be as interesting. When the bell finally signaled the end of class, I motioned to Tadase to come over to my desk so I could talk to him.

"**What is it, Amu-chan?"** He asked, his tone warm and friendly.

"**You're coming to the one-on-one with Nagihiko and Ayaka, right?"** I asked, unsure of how to approach my concerns. For some reason, I felt a little more trustworthy of Tadase than of anyone else; I knew I could trust him, probably because he seemed to trust me. I also felt I still had to make up for the mistrust I'd shown him once with Ikuto.

"**Of course,"** he said, looking a bit confused as to why I was confirming whether he was going or not. Oh, I was horrible at this sort of thing! I had no idea how to approach the problem, not to mention that where we were wasn't exactly the best place to bring it up, either. And so, I faltered.

"**Okay,"** I replied, and we both left the classroom. On our way to the basketball courts, it was silent; neither of us had anything to say. I didn't mind it on occasion, but at the moment... I was immersed in how I could bring up what I'd noticed to him. I felt I could trust him wholeheartedly now, and that he wouldn't judge me for what I thought. It was opinion, after all. Without warning, Tadase stopped, looking around to be sure everyone was out of earshot.

"**Amu-chan?"** he asked, and I turned to see a gently concerned look on his face. **"What's the matter? Is something bothering you?"** I felt a wave of relief wash over me, because now I had a viable method to say what it was that was bothering me. Something seemed odd with Ayaka... I just couldn't put my finger on it. I paused for a second, looking away and trying to put my thoughts together.

"**Yeah, kind of,"** I said, looking up to see his encouraging look. **"Something just seems a bit off with that Ayaka girl. Like there's some sort of... Negative energy, or something like that. I don't think she's a harm to anyone, but at the same time... I'm just getting this feeling,"** I said, shrugging my shoulders. I wasn't sure if I'd phrased what I meant right, but it put a thoughtful look on Tadase's face, so I guessed I'd been rather correct. I could see his jaw harden slightly, becoming the more serious leader-like figure he'd been on occasion.

"**Yes,"** he replied with a nod, **"I noticed it, too. Kiseki brought it up later; he doesn't think it has anything to do with her Guardian Characters. It's the same feeling I got from Ikuto-niisan... Like something is off, but at the same time, it's nobody's fault, either."** I felt quit a bit relieved when he said that, as if a great weight had been lifted off my shoulders. Sadly, I was still a little leery, so I didn't say anything.

"**Amu-chan."** My golden eyes flickered up quickly to meet his rust-brown ones, and I could see a confident look in his eyes. He reached forward and grasped my hand gently, as a sign of reassurance. **"If there's anything wrong, we'll find out and fix it. Promise. Don't let it worry you."** Those may have been the words he spoke, but the words in his eyes were different; _I will protect you._ Even I could read that closely enough; it made me feel a bit warmer inside, and a considerable amount better than I had before.

"**Okay."** That was all I had to reply as I saw that Nagihiko and Ayaka were both on the basketball court already. I could see a few people sitting on the grass; Rima herself was seated in the shade under a tree; she was looking over at myself and Tadase with a dangerous look as always. Kuukai was nowhere to be seen; he'd said he was going to be busy, after all, though I had a feeling he was a little afraid of his cousin. Perhaps she was a better basketball player than he was?

Feeling Rima's eyes seeming to burn holes in my back, I motioned towards the court. **"We should probably get going; they're going to start right away," **I said, and then I noticed something. The court itself was almost completely empty. One would have thought that with the president of the Student Council playing basketball against someone in a one-on-one match would have at least attracted a few people... Or perhaps they were just wary of her because of her school status, much like some people appeared to have been with the Guardians. Of course, to a few of those people, we'd managed to show how we were really just other students who were meant to help those in need, and many people had warmed up to us.

In response to my statement, Tadase nodded, and we both jogged towards the court. Rima's look was scorching, and I flinched. Honestly, that girl could scare the crap out of me sometimes, and I didn't quite like it. Even though I considered her one of my really good friends... Or possibly even a best friend, like Nadeshiko was.

"**Fancy seeing you here, Amu; I didn't think you were coming,"** she said, her tone overly sarcastic. I laughed nervously, and the both of us sat on the grass next to Rima. While at times it would make me a little jittery, Rima herself was actually quite amusing; of course, most of her sarcastic comments were directed towards me, and there was nothing I could do but hang my head about it.

"**You ready?"** Ayaka asked, wiping off the bottoms of her shoes with her bare palm. She was dressed in a pair of plain gym shorts and a plain white t-shirt; her hair was left untouched, as she had no worry of it falling in her face and causing problems. Nagihiko nodded back at her, and she could only smile; she was more than ready for one hell of a match.

"**I'll let you start with the ball,"** Ayaka said, bouncing the ball at Nagihiko with a nod. She was ready to start on the defensive rather than offensive; this in itself was one of her strategies. Once the ball reached Nagihiko, the match had started. He begun by dribbling the ball on the spot, clearly performing the action with ease. Ayaka herself was on her own side of the court, in a defensive basketball stance on the balls of her feet; she was waiting, her muscles coiled for either a forward dash or a straight basket-shot from where Nagihiko was standing.

First he came directly towards her, dribbling the ball hard with his right hand. As he came within range of her hands, he switched to his left hand, trying to 'twirl' around her to avoid. She, however, let him come past, but came up behind him and directly across, snatching the ball mid-dribble and running along th edge of the court. She was making a fast break for the basket; she needed to get the first shot to throw him off. She leaped into a lay-up shot...

But soon found that Nagihiko himself was leaping in front of her, taking the ball directly out of the air before it could reach the basket. It was clear now that the both of them were evenly matched, and that this one-on-one could go on for quite some time, so long as there were no dire interruptions. He landed much quicker than Ayaka did, and quickly made his way towards the other end of the court, his feet covering the distance with speed. Once she landed, she was also on the move; she was a considerable amount shorter, but she was agile for her size, and moved quickly along the length of the court. She caught up to Nagihiko while he was almost at the basket for a score, but she wasn't about to give up a shot that easily.

As he prepared to shoot for the basket from the three-point line, Ayaka sped ahead, running first underneath the basket, then turning to the mid-shot Nagihiko. The ball was already in the air, which meant she only had a fraction of a second to prevent a score. Leaping forward, she jumped high into the air, hands extended for the ball before it could reach the rim. She caught it only a foot and a half away from the rim, and her leap carried her as far as the three-point line. The moment she landed, she was speeding towards Nagihiko's end of the court. Her reactionary time was a touch faster than his, but the question was, now, would he be able to make up for lost time because of that?

It was a close shot as Nagihiko, who was a bit quicker-moving than she was, managed to catch up to her at half-court. Almost instantly she backpedaled, but he waited for her to take a shot or try to get past. Everything moved so quickly, it was difficult to tell exactly what happened. First, Ayaka moved to the left, aiming to go along the left sideline on the inside of the court and towards the basket. Instinctively, Nagihiko followed her movements, moving to his right to keep her from getting past. Without warning, however, she turned and, leaping towards her own right, shot right from the other side of the court.

The ball soared across the distance, flying past Nagihiko's outstretched arm and towards the rim. It was soaring to the point that it looked like it wouldn't make it, or if it did, it would barely clear the rim. It was also a somewhat sideways shot, throwing off its accuracy a small bit. First it hit the rim, bouncing upwards and into the air. It would have dropped right through the center of the basket...

Had an X-Egg not shot up from underneath the basket and knocked it completely out.

"**An X-Egg!"** I shot up and shouted, and soon I could see more than one. Four more came around, circling the battlefield. Tadase and Rima had both stood up along with me, and Nagihiko and Ayaka had cleared the basketball court. It was now that I wondered whether Ayaka was only able to character-change, or if she could perform a complete Character Transformation like the rest of us.

"**Amu!"** Rima called, and I nodded down at her.

"**My own heart..."** Myself, Tadase, Rima, and Nagihiko all spoke in unison. **"Unlo--"**

"**Flash Arrow!"** Ayaka's voice called, and all of us turned to look at her. I was genuinely surprised; she had Character-changed with Yumi, but her character change looked rather extensive compared to some others. On her back was a quiver of arrows, and in her right hand, a bow; along her right forearm was a bracer, used to keep the bowstring from rubbing against her arm when she shot. She also wore an archer's glove on her left hand, and covering the left side of her chest was a leather guard, to keep it from chafing her chest when she shot. The arrow she'd fired shot forward, directly to the center of the basketball court. When it reached there, it exploded in a flash of light; a flash bang, to disorient the eggs. It did its job, but then I realized that the X-Eggs had been headed towards us.

"**Quick! Now!"** She ordered, and nocked another arrow.

"**Right!" **I said, and nodded at her. I got it now; she was going to serve as our backup, even though she couldn't Character Transform like the rest of us could.

"**My own heart... Unlock!"**

"**Character Transformation: Platinum Royale!"**

"**Character Transformation: Clown Drop!"**

"**Character Transformation: Beat Jumper!"**

"**Character Transformation: Amulet Heart!"**

Ayaka had taken to firing arrows at the X-Eggs to keep them distracted, and I was surprised to see that her quiver didn't seem to be diminishing very quickly. She must have had a near-unlimited supply of arrows; or, at least that was what I'd thought at first. Upon looking closer, I could see that once an arrow shot, it disappeared in a tiny flash, and appeared back in her quiver. Two of the X-Eggs were now focusing on her, but her focus didn't appear to waver; she was ready to take them on.

The two eggs flew at Ayaka, while the remaining four flew at me. I brought out my pom-poms and held them in front of me, using them as a shield against the energy that the eggs were firing out at me. I could feel my arms shaking from the pressure, ready to give at any moment. These eggs were powerful! I held up for a few seconds, but soon, I couldn't handle it; my arms gave, and the energy sent me flying back, still firing unconditionally at me.

Soon, my backwards momentum was stopped by a soft, strong arm, and I soon saw the length of Tadase's scepter extended in front. A golden light erupted from the top, forming a hemisphere-like shield around the both of us from the dark energy released from the eggs. I felt a wave of relief wash over me, and I shot Tadase a thankful look. I could see his own arm shaking from the power he was trying to ward off, and I regained my feet. I knew what I had to do; we'd combined our abilities before, and this time would be no different, or so I hoped.

Bringing my pink pom-poms up, I stretched both arms out, the pom poms directly beneath the head of the scepter. The gold was soon interspersed with a light pink glow, and neither of our arms seemed to be shaking from the power. Hopefully someone could do something while we tried to keep ourselves from getting injured...

"**Hotori-kun! Hinamori-chan! Close your eyes!"** Ayaka's voice yelled, and it appeared to carry a commanding tone; so that must have been what her character was like. I squeeze my eyes shut hard, guessing what was going to happen next.

"**Flash Arrow!"** There was a flash of light that I could even see from behind my eyelids, and soon, the resistance I'd felt was gone. I opened my eyes to see that it had not only been two, but all four of the X-Eggs using their power at the same time against us.

"**Blaze Shoot!"** Nagihiko cried, and his attack sent the X-Eggs as close together as they could be. At the same time, Rima's Juggling Party attack circled around them, keeping them from escaping from the same relative area. She soon followed up with a Tightrope Dancer to hold them where we were, and then I knew it was my turn.

"**Negative Heart: Lock on! OPEN HEART!" **I felt the power flowing from the Humpty Lock as I purified the X-Eggs. They soon disappeared into nowhere, back to wherever their owners were. I sighed, feeling relieved that all of that was over. Why were there X-Eggs turning up in numbers like this? We weren't even members of the Guardians anymore... Or at least, not officially. So why were there X-Eggs showing up here and not around where Yaya and the others were?

_Perhaps,_ I thought, _They're attracted to me because I'm the Joker. The trump card. And the possessor of the Humpty Lock._

"**Are you all right, Amu-chan?"** Tadase asked, looking at me with a touch of concern across his features. Soon his gaze focused on my arm, which appeared to have been... _Burned_ by my contact with the energy from the X-Eggs. He looked slightly distraught that he'd let me get hurt... Of course, it wasn't his fault, after all, and he'd technically prevented further injury to me – most likely a loss of brain cells from cracking my skull on the ground pretty hard – by catching me as I was flying back. He'd also defended me with Holy Crown... And held it up on his own for a while, too.

"**Y-yeah, I'm fine. It doesn't hurt,"** I lied, but it actually did hurt a bit. I could feel the burning sensation along my skin, and although it wasn't a bad injury, it'd be easily dealt with. It wasn't a considerably large burn, anyway, and looked more like a bad sunburn than anything. **"Thanks, Tadase-kun. You really saved me there."** I could see the relief cross his features, and I flashed him a bright smile.

All of us released our transformations – or character changes, if you included Ayaka in the mix – and gathered together as a group, Ayaka herself looking considerably put-out by the entire incident. I myself was a bit put-out, too; hers and Nagihiko's one-on-one match had been getting so tense, especially with her half-court shot, before the X-Eggs had shown up. I somewhat understood her dislike of the X-Eggs revealing themselves.

"**Well, that was an interesting turn of events,"** Nagihiko stated, glancing briefly at Ayaka as he said that.

"**That shot would have went in,"** she stated, crossing her arms and puffing out her cheeks briefly. **"I couldn't help but have an instinct to blind them on first possible sight."** I giggled at that. Ayaka _had_ kind of jumped in almost instantaneously, as if acting on instinct; but now, my doubts of her were a little knocked down due to the fact that she'd actually helped us, and in a very beneficial way, too. **"But the question is... Why would they randomly show up at the basketball court like that? And four of them, too?"**

"**I don't know,"** Nagihiko stated, his face showing how much he was actually thinking about the situation. **"Whatever the case... Ayaka, why don't we continue this another day? And I'll count that shot, too... It would be unfair to say it didn't work, now wouldn't it?"**

"**Yeah, Nagihiko knows well about how things would be unfair,"** Rima stated sarcastically, and I looked down at her, a bit confused. Nagihiko's replying laugh was quite nervous, but I was totally out to lunch at the conversation, as, from what I could tell by looking, was Ayaka. Tadase looked slightly confused, but appeared to put two and two together with relative ease. What could they _honestly_ be talking about?

"**Well, perhaps we should all head home, then,"** Tadase suggested, and everyone nodded in unison to the statement. Nagihiko, Rima, and Ayaka all left in one direction, leaving myself and Tadase alone and by ourselves. It was silent at first while we walked, as I wasn't entirely sure what to say. It was certainly a good thing he started a conversation, because I wouldn't have known where to set foot otherwise.

"**Amu-chan?"** He started, as always, using my name to get my attention before actually speaking. I turned to him questioningly, wondering what it was that he wanted to say.

"**Are you doing anything this Sunday?"** He asked.

"**Not that I can think of, no... Unless Ami gets somehow dropped on me for whatever reason,"** I added with a sigh. I really hoped my parents wouldn't think of leaving Ami alone with me again... Incidences with her tended to turn out rather disastrous. There had even been a time – my final battle with Utau – where Ami had shown up out of the blue, in the middle of the battle, cheering for Utau. Sure, it had cheered Utau up to see such a young girl cheering for her music, but it still hadn't been the best thing, either.

"**Well... I wanted to go back to the amusement park, Amu-chan. Would you like to come with me?"** He asked, and I caught a slightly blush creeping across his light cheeks. **"It doesn't open until the evening, but I was also wondering if you'd like to hang out in the afternoon for a little while."** I could feel my heart racing; Tadase was [technically] asking me out on a date! It didn't matter whether he'd done it multiple times before; it still made me rather jittery, and I could feel that same blush creeping up across my cheeks.

"**O-okay... Y-yeah, sure. I'd love to!"** I blurted, trying to contain my raging enthusiasm. A whole day spent only with Tadase? Of course I was pumped!

Perhaps this day hadn't been as bad as I'd thought after all.

* * *

**A/N:** Yes, I know, another Tadamu moment. There's probably going to be a lot of them throughout some of the chapters since Ikuto's gone. v_v I have plans and plots; don't you worry. :3 I like the Tadamu fluff because it's just so damn cute... [and much, MUCH easier to portray. Dude, I actually have to THINK to create an Amuto moment! At least, more than with Tadamu.]

So, read and review, enjoy. Now, I must slumber...

Kuku-chan out~


	4. Sparkling Sunday

**A/N:** Okay, so this is just to let all my reviewers know: regardless of whether you review anonymous or not, if you have a question, I'll try to answer it, 'kay? For those that have accounts I'll probably answer your question through a PM, so any anonymously-placed questions will be answered in the next chapter.

Now, here we go.

_ami-chan:_ I haven't decided whether it's going to be Rimahiko or Ayahiko [yeah, we'll give it that for a ship name] yet. There's probably going to be instances of both, but I don't know which way it's going to go yet. :3 Rimahiko, albeit cute, I find is kinda tough to portray, as it's more underlying statements [generally on Rima's part] made that kinda makes the couple than anything. The basketball scene is more... Kuukai avoiding an ass-kicking from his cousin in a round of basketball. I tried to introduce him better in the third chapter, so, I hope it was better than the first two. :3

Now... Yay next chapter?

* * *

Sunday came faster than I'd expected, and before I knew it, I was jerked away from the end of the homework I'd got by my cell phone ringing next to me. I guessed that it was probably Tadase, and I assumed he was either reminding me of or calling to ask when we should meet this afternoon. My parents had taken Ami out to the park for a picnic, so I was all alone in the house. I'd told them Tadase may come over in the afternoon, of which they were all right with, thankfully. It was a good thing they trusted me with that sort of thing.

"**Hello?"** I greeted, unsure of who it actually was. The line was completely silent, but then I recognized the snickering of someone in the background, and then the sound of a violin. There was only one person that could be... But wouldn't he be the one playing the violin?

"**Amu-nya~"** I heard Yoru say, clearly in a secluded area from how audible yet whisper-like his voice was. **"It's Yoru-nya~!"** Well, that was surely a surprise... But the question was, where was Ikuto? The violin... No, it couldn't be. Was he the one playing the violin in the background?

"**Yoru, where's Ikuto?"** I asked, for some reason feeling as if I had to keep my voice down so he wouldn't hear. **"And why are--"**

"**Shh! Listen, nya~"** he ordered, and I stayed silent. The song I could hear in the background... It sounded almost sorrowful, as if it missed something or some_one_... But at the same time, it seemed glad, and able to wait for what it was missing. I felt so moved by the piece, but I wondered, what was missing? Where were the happy feelings coming from... And who, or what, was being waited for?

"**Yoru? What are you doing?"** I hear Ikuto's voice in the background, and I instantly froze. I didn't know what to do. Should I hang up and pretend Yoru was just playing with the camera, again? Or should I just leave it alone? I heard the phone being moved, and soon, a voice rang across the line.

"**Hello?"**

"**Ikuto?"** I queried, and I could almost feel the faintness of a smile that had [probably] crossed his face. **"I haven't talked to you in a while!"** I started, feeling rather enthusiastic. He was silent, but it wasn't all that hard for me to read him, even if I couldn't see him face-to-face.

"**Miss me?"** He asked, and I instantly flushed red. I could hear his laughter across the line, and I managed to obstinately deny that I hadn't. He laughed even more at my obstinate tendencies... As was usual. His chuckle was dark... Almost like chocolate. **"Liar."** His tone was quiet, seemingly dark like the alley-cat type he was, but somehow friendly. I couldn't figure out how.

"**W-well of course I miss you, Ikuto,"** I snapped, not realizing how curt my tone actually was. **"We're friends, after all!"** My voice was a little squeakier than usual... Well, at least, it certainly wasn't that "squeaky" when I was talking to anyone else. Not even when I was speaking to Tadase. **"How is everything going?"**

"**Great. I don't have too many regrets about joining the orchestra."**

"**That's good."**

"**Well... I have a performance soon."**

"**Good luck, Ikuto,"** I said, my voice soft and sincere. **"I know you'll do well."**

"**Bye." **His tone seemed a bit disgruntled and embarrassed as he said that, and he quickly hung up. I flipped my phone shut and leaned back in my chair, sighing. I wouldn't admit it outwardly, but for some reason, I really missed Ikuto. It was glad to know that he was all right, but... At the same time, I wished he was here. Sure, he liked to tease me, a _lot_, but he could also be serious, and it was almost... Adventurous to be around him.

I clearly hadn't realized the door downstairs had opened, at least, not until a very short, annoying three-year-old burst through my bedroom door [well, after opening it of course] with an enthusiasm that could rival even Ran's expendable sporty energy. What did I do? Well... I literally fell backwards in my chair, as Ami, my little sister, had scared the _bejeezus_ out of me.

"**Oneechan! Oneechan! Mama and papa are taking me to Utau-chan's singing!"** Ami hollered, and padded over to me like the ecstatic child that she was. As I was laying on the floor shaking in absolute horror and fright – although the frightening moment was long over – my phone started to go off, again, and I quickly sat up and leaped onto the bed.

"**That's great, Ami!"** I said as I flipped the phone open to answer. **"Hello?"**

"**Hello, Amu-chan. It's Tadase,"** I heard, and finally I was glad. No more strange phone calls for me. Regardless of my sister yelling and cheering about Utau's concert in the background, I somehow managed to continue the conversation. Hopefully Ran, Miki, Suu, and Dia would be able to entertain Ami long enough for me to talk to Tadase.

"**Oh, hi, Tadase-kun,"** I replied. **"Don't mind the, er... Background noise. It's my sister,"** I added quickly, my tone seeming a bit annoyed, not at him, but at her apparent inability to respect the fact that I was on the phone. I couldn't blame her, though; she was only three, after all.

"**Is this a bad time?"** He asked, and I quickly detoured his point.

"**No no no, not at all! She's just very--"**

" _**TEWL ME YOUR GWEATEST DESIIIIRE~ "**_

"**--enthusiastic about how--"**

" _**'THE PEWRSON YOU DESIYWRE~' **_**"**

"**--mom and dad finally got her--"**

" _**WIF STWENGTH STWONG ENOUGH TO SHAKE DOWN THE VOWYUME~ **_**"**

"**--tickets to one of Utau's upcoming--"**

" _**TWY SHOUTING WIF A WOUD VOIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIICEEEEEEEEE~**_** "**

"**--Performances... AMI!" **I hollered, muffling the phone against my shoulder as I had a short raging moment at my sister.

"**Siiiiiiiiiiiiis! Come pway wif me!"** Ami ordered, and I sighed.

"**Not now, Ami, I'm--"**

"**Pwease, sis!"** Ami tugged on my sleeve, and I sighed.

"**I'll play with you once I'm off the phone, okay? For now, why don't you take the Great Charas to your room?"** I suggested, throwing my four characters a, 'deal with her or else' sort of look. I saw Ran, Miki, and Suu stiffen; Dia looked slightly confused, but was ready to go along with the plan nonetheless. They flew out towards Ami's room, and thankfully, Ami followed them.

"**Sorry, Tadase-kun,"** I apologized, my tone sincere.

"**It's all right, Amu-chan. So... When do you want to meet?"** He asked, and I thought for a moment. Well, at my house certainly wouldn't be a good idea at the moment... But perhaps my mom and dad would make Ami leave me alone because I had a friend over, though I doubted that would stop Ami regardless.

"**Well, we could go to the park first, but I have a little bit of homework to finish,"** I replied. **"Plus... Ami's in one of her moods, and she wants me to play with her..."**

"**Oh,"** he replied, and I could hear the disappointment in his voice. Perhaps he thought I was cancelling! Oh no! I couldn't let him think that.

"**I'll see if I can't get her focusing on something else, though,"** I added quickly, my tone hurried to cover up what I'd said. **"I think she's supposed to be leaving right away, though, so perhaps we could meet here instead?"**

"**All right, that's fine,"** Tadase confirmed, and I smiled to myself. **"Is my coming over in a little while all right?"**

"**Sure,"** I replied, and as I said that, I heard my mother calling for Ami saying that they were going to leave soon, so she had best be ready. **"It sounds like they're leaving quite soon, so I won't have to worry about having to entertain her,"** I said with an air of relief, allowing a sigh to escape. I could almost feel the smile behind Tadase's words as he replied.

"**Okay, Amu-chan. See you in a little while,"** he said, and hung up. I quickly leaped up, opening the door a small crack to let my Guardian Characters in should they escape from Ami, and quickly finished the last question on my homework before stretching and closing it. Before I could have a moment to relax, however, Ami burst back into my room. She must have had like, a sixth sense to know I was off of the phone or something... I could swear she was psychic sometimes.

"**Sis! Pway with me!"** Her voice was ordering, but I shook my head.

"**I'm sorry, Ami, but I'm busy! I'll play with you when you get back, okay?"**

...And then, the waterworks started. The eyes that I couldn't resist...

"**Fine, Ami,"** I said, completely regretting what I'd just said only seconds afterwards.

* * *

I would have been the one to answer the door when Tadase arrived, but I was too busy being overrun by my little sister. She literally had me running all over the house, and my parents weren't much help, either. The minute I heard the doorbell ring, though, I was glad my mother was around to get it, because I probably wouldn't have been able to get away from Ami either way.

I heard my mother's call from upstairs, and I looked to Ami for a quick second, telling her that I'd be right back. I didn't even turn to see the look on her face as I came down the stairs, nor did I know that Ami was following me. I was moving at a fairly quick pace, but what happened next... I clearly didn't expect. Ami had been behind me and, as my hand came back, she grabbed it, giving it a playful tug. It completely threw my balance off...

...And as a result, I crashed [almost] face-first on the floor. In front of the door. In other words, right in front of Tadase. I heard a shocked gasp and a small "uh-oh" from Tadase and Ami respectively, and as I sat up, I saw Tadase's face was level with mine.

"**Are you all right, Amu-chan?!"** He asked, sounding rather worried that I'd injured myself. _Yes, I'm all right, other than completely embarrassing the pants out of myself in front of you __and looking like a bumbling klutz of course,_ I thought, but didn't say anything. I rubbed the red spot that was on my face – or at least, it would have looked red to anyone looking at me, and this time, it was _not_ becaus I was blushing like a maniac – where my cheek had hit the floor, then sent a scorching glare at Ami. My mother was helping the young girl put her coat on, and I assumed [thankfully] that they were leaving. They waved quickly to me and Tadase, and left... Leaving the house empty and quiet.

"**Yeah, I'm okay, Tadase-kun,"** I replied, rubbing the back of my head. My hair was probably a bit messy, and I felt like a bumbling idiot, too. I was dressed in a short, pleated skirt – plaid and complete with pink and black, as well as a matching black belt with a skull buckle in the front – and matching pink and black leggings underneath. I was wearing a black and dark grey T-shirt as well; about one-third of the shirt was black on the right side, and the rest was a dark grey, with a vine-like rose pattern in black interspersed with the plain grey. I could feel a burning sensation on my cheek and arm where I'd slid a bit across the carpet.

Tadase looked at me for a second, then pulled out his handkerchief and gently touched where my face had rubbed against the carpet. It stung, and I flinched a bit from the pain. He shook his head slightly, and I could see there was the faintest tinge of blood. It wasn't much, but the carpet certainly must have taken off enough skin for it to hurt. He folded up the handkerchief, still saying nothing, making sure the blood was inside it, and put it back in his pocket.

* * *

"**Sorry about how Ami was acting earlier... She's kind of excited about Utau's performance,"** I said, my tone a little embarrassed and sheepish. We had gone upstairs to sit in my room for a little while; the both of us were sitting on my bed, with a few small snacks on the little table nearby.

Tadase shook his head. **"No, it's all right; she's your sister, and she's young. She certainly looks like a handful,"** he added with a light chuckle.

"**Yeah, she definitely is,"** I said with a sigh, and suddenly, the room went quiet. I could feel...

"**I love you, Amu-chan."**

...That same air coming over us that always did. But this time, it felt much, much different. I was having momentary flashbacks... First it was of how Tadase has bucked up and confessed to me. We'd been sitting in the same place... And it had been on White Day. I realized now that he'd been wearing the same white sweater that day... And then I remembered when Ikuto had been found with me, here, and the look I'd seen on Tadase's face. I remembered Ikuto's cynical, teasing look... And then Tadase's piercing, hurt gaze.

This time, I wasn't blushing as much. My expression looked a bit pained, and I didn't even realize I was staring off into space.

"**Amu-chan?"**

Tadase's voice snapped me back to reality with a small gasp, and I realized he'd laid a concerned hand on my shoulder, leaning in just a bit closer to me. I glanced at him briefly, and saw the concern in his eyes.

"**Is something wrong?"** He queried, and I stopped for a minute. Should I tell him? Should I speak about what it was that I was remembering? Sure, at first it hadn't been a bad memory, but near the end... No, I didn't want to remember that face. I now realized that my hands were shaking in my lap, and that Tadase looked really, _really_ concerned about what was bothering me.

"**I'm sorry, I was just... Remembering something,"** I started. **"I was remembering... White Day. In the sixth grade." **I was sure he could tell that wasn't what was bothering me, though. I looked down even further, and my hair fell in front of my eyes as I spoke. Gladly, it hid them from his view, so he couldn't see the reaction I was having to remembering what I was. **"Then... I remembered when Ikuto... Drove you off. He was so cynical about it... And then I remembered the look on your face. In your eyes."**

I swallowed the lump that had grown in my throat, and Tadase himself said nothing. _I don't ever want to cause you that sort of pain again... But... At the same time... I feel somehow conflicted..._ I wasn't entirely sure why I felt so conflicted, either. I was so fickle... I couldn't decide on anyone. No matter how many times Tadase might have shown affection towards me, I would always remember Ikuto as well... Because he'd also done the same, albeit in a much different manner. I knew I was drawn between eternally seeing the look on either Tadase's or _his_ face when I had to make a choice...

It would be the same look from back then, no matter whose face it was on.

"**Amu-chan..."** Tadase's tone was much, much different than it had been before. It was more serious, focused, but somehow still gentle. **"It's all right. You don't have to worry about it."** I knew it was really none of my business to be stuck between that, but...

"**I don't want to see you hurt like that ever again,"** I blurted, not realizing I'd spoken my thoughts aloud. I heard a small gasp, and quickly slapped my hands over my mouth. Oh god. What had I just said?! I really wished that, right now, the roof would crash down on me and completely bury my shame. I literally wanted to crawl in a hole and wallow in my shame.

My gaze slowly wavered over to Tadase's, seeing the shocked look in his eyes. It was pure surprise, though it wasn't a bad form of surprise, thankfully. He'd been taken aback by my words, it seemed... _Oh no. I'm done for now. Someone, please, hit me over the head with a baseball bat, or something, before I say even more things I will thoroughly regret._

"**Amu-chan,"** Tadase started, his voice low and soft. I could feel myself moving, but it wasn't of my own will; I was unsure of what was happening, as I was too busy trying to focus on a million things at once, most of that being my raging thoughts. Before I knew it... Tadase had hugged me.

"**Thank you."**

* * *

**A/N:** All right, Amuto fans! I have now thought of a way for Ikuto to show up briefly. Yes, I had an Amuto moment on the cell phone, but don't worry! Yes, there's a lot of Tadamu [especially at the end of this chapter] but my imagination has sparked. ^_^ Worry not, worry not.

Yeah. It was basically all Tadase and Amu in this episode. Sorry, no Rima to ruin the moment. She needs a day off every now and again, after all!

Um... yeah. More to come. I may not update tomorrow night since I'll have to be going to sleep early; have to get up earlier the next day. ^^

Anyway, read and review PLEASE!


	5. Zero's Not A Hero!

**A/N:** Woo... Fifth chapter already! Maybe I should slow down... nobody's reviewing... I mean, is anybody even reading this story? I get the feeling they're not... 'cause... Out of 4 chapters, I have 2 reviews. [kudos to those reviewers]. I've also only gotten... one Author Alert, 2 Favourite Stories, 1 Story Alert, and 1 Favourite Author [some might be duplicates of the same person, but still]... Am I throwing people off with having long-winded paragraphs? I hope not... I like paragraphs. They're my best friend. :3

So, yeah, to the aforementioned people-whose-names-weren't-actually-mentioned... ARIGATOU. I love you. 3 In a very non creepy and yeah way...

I also noticed I'm having some format problems, and I'm trying to figure them out, so... yeah. If anything looks like it randomly cuts off, there's SUPPOSED to be a line there to show it. Like after this long-winded author's note. XD

Also, please note that the beginning of the story is at the SAME TIME as the last chapter is occuring. You'll see where the times coincide later on.

Now. Back to the story~

* * *

"**Look at this behaviour,"** the woman holding the photos stated. **"They're close. That's an advantage for you."**

"**Yes. I know that." **The replying voice was stoic and emotionless.

"**Then why the hell didn't you take advantage of it, you useless fluke!"** The woman yelled, and the sound of someone being hit could be heard. It was followed by a loud thud, the thud of someone hitting a floor or wall. The face of a girl with short, white hair could be seen, a half-gloved palm over her face, gently rubbing the area where she'd been hit.

"**Separate them, damn it! Your intent is to cause havoc for them and get us those eggs, not gallavant around and do whatever it is you please!"** The voice was angry, hollering, but the girl in white did not flinch a single bit. She showed no emotion, no remorse of anything...

"**Now go. Do what you're supposed to do. And do it _right._"** The woman stalked off, leaving the girl she'd just been yelling at standing in the room, alone.

"**Don't worry,"** the girl said to apparently no one in particular.

"**I will save you."**

* * *

"**Where did they go?!"** Rima's voice carried over the area, far enough to reach Nagihiko, who wasn't far from her. Rima had sent a text message to Amu, but there had been no answer, so she'd had no choice but to call upon Nagihiko; they could purify X-Eggs together if needed, after all. That was the power of Queen's Waltz.

"**This way, Rima-chan!"** Nagihiko called, following the directions Rhythm was giving him regardless of the fact that they were still in their Character Transformed state. Temari was also nearby, giving directions; she rarely came out, but because it was a Sunday, she was staying out in the open. Nagihiko had no worries; Rima knew his "secret", and she was bound and determined to keep it.

...Well, at least on the condition that Nagihiko would follow her every command, of course.

It was then they could see it; not one, not two, but five X-Eggs, flying in a tight circle in the park. What else they saw, however, was a clearly familiar face; the same girl they'd seen only days ago, dressed in white with a pair of cat ears and a cat's tail. This time, however, her outfit was slightly different; over her platform boots and underneat her skirt she wore a pair of shimmering, sparkling pants, obviously embedded with sequins or something similar; around her head was a silver wreath-like accessory, and she also wore a long, fleeting white scarf that fluttered in the wind. As well, her armbands were not simple white netting; they were armwarmers with black crisscross-design strings along the outside of her forearms, and reached to her mid-bicep. She also had a white string tied around each upper bicep to finish things off.

The girl didn't appear to flinch much as Nagihiko and Rima came closer... And her movement speed was absolutely uncanny. She had clearly inherited the feline grace and reflexes that her Character Transformation – assuming that was what it was, of course – offered her, giving her increased speed. Once they were within range, the girl turned around with a whip-like motion, swiping across the air diagonally in front of her.

"**Aurora Crescent!"** She cried, and soon, white crescent-shaped blades of energy were flying directly at Rima, at top-notch speeds. The first wave was easily avoidable by a simple leap into the air; the second, however, was much less than that. Because Rima was airborne, she was a point-blank target, something of which the fast-moving woman was quick to take advantage of. Repeating the same attack again, she directed it again at Rima, hoping to throw her off.

What she didn't compensate, for, was teamwork. Nagihiko, realizing quickly what would have been done, leaped high into the air – Rima's airborne height was easily achievable with his abilities as Beat Jumper – and caught Rima as he came sideways across the attack. It was a bare save; they were only just out of the way as it roared past.

"**Thanks, Nagihiko-kun,"** Rima panted, clearly relieved that she hadn't been knocked clean out of the air by the attack. Their opponent was clearly angered from behing foiled in such a manner... And as a result, once her attack had failed, she was moving across the ground, her stance low to keep her streamlined and moving at a faster pace. Her focus was no longer Rima, but Nagihiko instead. Piercing amber eyes, catlike in their nature, bored directly into her opponent, clearly in an attempt to intimidate.

It surely wasn't going to work. In a two-on-one battle like this... These sorts of things didn't work.

"**Tightrope Dancer!"** Rima yelled, and the threads snaked around the neko woman, one end staying with Rima, the other going to Nagihiko. Intelligence was clearly on both sides; whose intelligence would win out, however, was the question. The instant the ropes snaked towards her, she spread her body out, aiming to create as much space as possible. Both Nagihiko and Rima pulled, and while they did, the girl put more tension on the ropes by moving against their attempts to pull the ropes tighter. It meant she couldn't hold up against keeping them tight to her body, but once there was enough tension between them, she completely released it all at once; she flew forward, flying free and leaping into a forward somersault as both Nagihiko and Rima were thrown back from the release of force.

Rather than continuing to attack, however, the girl ran towards the X-Eggs, of which were still circling in their odd pattern. She raised one hand to the sky, fingers splayed.

"**Cosmic Aegis!"** A silvery-white light spread from the girl's arm, trapping the X-Eggs and drawing them towards her. With a snap of her fingers, they were gone, and she was left to face against the two former Guardians. She knew she was clearly outnumbered, however, and wasn't about to stand there just to be beaten.

"**Wait!"** Nagihiko's voice called as the girl turned around and was about to leave. She stopped, but didn't turn around; no matter how defenceless she might have seemed, she was completely on her guard.

"**Who are you, and why are you doing this?"**

There was no answer for a few short seconds, as the girl contemplated her answer. Neither Rima nor Nagihiko moved; both waited with baited breath.

"**Rei."**

And she was gone.

* * *

On one hand, I was freaking out to no end. I had no idea what I should do; I wanted to move, to get away, because I was overly embarrassed about the entirety of the situation. And yet... at the same time, I didn't want to move. I was stuck between a rock and a hard place... Or, I should have said, embarrassment and a warm embrace.

Yep. I was definitely too fickle and jittery for my own good.

"**Thank you."** Those words echoed through my mind... And while the statement was simple, the meaning behind it was extravagant. What I'd said meant so much more than just the fact that I was embarrassed; it exposed completely that I cared. A _lot_. I had always cared... Sure, at first I might have been just attracted because Tadase was, well, _very_ attractive, but over time...

I couldn't deny that Tadase wasn't a good-natured person. Perhaps it wasn't his strong suit to talk in front of crowds, but he did it to the best of his ability. Maybe he wasn't confident in admitting things to people, or at least, things that were more personal... But he'd done it. He'd grown past what had been his obstacles. Perhaps he wasn't the strong type, and to some he might not have been suited to lead, but he'd led the Guardians. He'd had his falls, his ups and downs... But he'd gone past it.

_But so has Ikuto,_ my mind protested, and mentally, I twitched. What was _wrong_ with me? I was sitting here with _Tadase_ and thinking about _Ikuto_? I felt so torn... Ikuto and Tadase were so different. Tadase was pure, kind, and heartful; Ikuto was annoying, liked to tease me, and was childish. But they were _both_ responsible. They had _both_ overcome something difficult. But... Ikuto was off on his own journey, per se; he was searching for his father, and making a name for himself as a violinist. It was something he deserved.

My thoughts were rather rudely interrupted by a certain group of Guardian Characters flying through the window, the most enthusiastic of them screaming my name at the top of her lungs. I swore I was going to _kill_ Ran. Instinctively, Tadase and I jumped apart, both of our faces a clear shade of red. I forced myself to focus on Ran's hollering voice as I focused back on the present.

"**Amu-chan! Amu-chan!! That girl's near here again! The one in the white!"** Both Tadase and I looked at each other, nodded once, and glanced out to my small patio area that served as a large window in my room. Sure enough, across the tops of the wooden power poles she moved, with an almost blinding speed. I soon realized, however, she wasn't jumping; she was doing something else. She'd appear, then disappear, and suddenly appear on the next pole. Once she reached the end... She disappeared. Literally.

I'd hardly realized that in a rush, I'd opened the patio and ran to the railing, leaning over it to see even further down the street towards where she was headed. Was she trying to throw us off, perhaps? I didn't know... But there was clearly something up with whomever she was. I just didn't know what.

"**It's too late to go after her,"** I said with a sigh. I leaned out a bit further on the railing. My balance flailed for a moment, but I quickly recovered with a sigh. It was silent for a little while... Today was one of those days where I didn't want to have to deal with the X-Eggs and all they entailed. I wanted a day off, where I wouldn't have to worry about anything.

"**Amu-chan? Do you want to go for a walk?"** Tadase asked. He must have read my mood clearly, because I was considerably enthusiastic fabout the idea.

"**Sure,"** I replied with a smile.

* * *

"**It's so beautiful outside!"** I exclaimed happily as I threw my arms up in the air. Tadase and I had taken the short walk to the fountain in the park; it was a place of memory for me, for a fair number of reasons. It had been the place where I'd met with Ikuto a few times. It had also been where I'd helped Utau get back on her feet when I'd filled in for Sanjou as her manager for the day, since she was home sick. Tadase had also bought me ice cream once, and we'd sat on one of the benches here...

"**It is,"** Tadase replied, looking around with a smile. I took a seat on one of the benches with a sigh, stretching out under the warm sunlight. It was certainly a beautiful spring day, that was for sure, and I was glad to know who I was spending it with. I was forcing myself to _not_ think about Ikuto or the conflictions I was having between him and Tadase now, hoping to at least keep from making Tadase's time a lot less brighter because I was brooding.

"**Ah! Look!"** I said, pointing towards one of the sidewalks farther away. Sure enough, it was none other than Kuukai and Utau, and they seemed to be deeply immersed in conversation. I frowned, leaning over to Tadase. **"Am I seeing things, or is that really Utau and Kuukai?"** I asked, mostly to clarify that I wasn't having strange hallucinations. I really wouldn't have been surprised if I was; I did some pretty weird things, after all.

"**M'hm. That's Utau-neechan and Souma-san,"** he replied, and I noticed he called her Utau-neechan... Just like he called Ikuto "Ikuto-niisan". Before, he'd always called him just "Tsukiyomi Ikuto" or "Ikuto"; however, since they'd, for lack of a better term, "made up", they were acting like they were brothers again. _That_ thought only made me brood even more. No matter who I was with, Utau would almost seem like a sister to me.

I really needed to see a therapist one of these days.

I squinted slightly, a small "hmm" escaping from my lips. It was more than contemplation; I was wondering what in the _hell_ Utau and Kuukai would be doing together. I knew Utau had a performance tonight, because my sister was attending; perhaps she was having some of her last-minute pre-performance ramen. Seriously, that girl could probably eat a horse and still be hungry. Not to mention, I knew Kuukai liked ramen, too...

Just thinking about ramen made me hungry, and I heard my stomach groan lightly. I jumped at the sound, but tried to cover it up by leaning against the bench. I was still _observing_ – more like staring, but – what was going on in the distance between those two. I couldn't make out whatever conversation they were having, but Utau seemed like her slightly abrasive, obstinate self, and Kuukai? Well, he was just his outgoing older brother-like self.

"**Are you hungry, Amu-chan?"** Tadase asked, and I turned back to him, much less interested in what was going on with Kuukai and Utau.

"**Mm, yeah, a little bit,"** I replied with a light nervous giggle. **"My mom left something in the fridge, but I think there's enough for the both of us. Do you want to head back? We can head to the amusement park afterwards," **I offered.

"**All right; that sounds fine."**

* * *

"**I think you'll do great, Idol-san,"** Kuukai encouraged, walking with both hands behind his head. **"You've never disappointed the crowd when you sung, now have you?"**

"**Well of course not, because I wouldn't be an idol otherwise,"** Utau stated, her voice cool and obstinate as always. There was even a hint of sarcasm behind it. **"I can't help it. Everyone's nervous before they do this sort of thing. I just needed some good ramen so I could get it out."**

"**Wait, shouldn't you be at the venue preparing or something?"** Kuukai asked, and Utau simply rolled her eyes.

"**No; I'm not on for, ah hell, a few hours. It doesn't take _that_ long to get ready, you know,"** she said, scoffing a little. **"I needed some food anyway, and ramen always helps. Especially because they've now got two recipes at that place. Good thing I put up a little protest, huh? I liked the original recipe better anyway,"** she stated with a long-winded sigh. It was true; she could die for ramen any time. It was probably her favourite food, no matter how oily it might have been. She could also down a lot of it, too; she was a girl with a big appetite, that was for sure.

"**You've got a big performance tonight. Ramen, my treat,"** Kuukai offered with a chuckle and a smile. Utau flinched slightly.

"**You don't have to treat me, you know,"** she said, but Kuukai shook her off.

"**Na. I said, my treat. Don't worry about my pockets,"** he replied. **"Last one to the shop has to eat two whole bowls!"** he crowed, and with a courageous and slightly cocky chuckle, he ran off towards the ramen shop.

"**Hey, head start, that's no fair, wait up!"** Utau hollered, but picked up at a running pace. She'd catch that Kuukai for sure... But then again, she could probably down two whole bowls no problem, and he _did_ say it was his treat. Maybe it would be better for her to lose this small competition after all...

* * *

**A/N:** Yeah, I couldn't decide whether I wanted Kuukai and Utau to show up, or if I wanted it to be Rima and Nagihiko. But, since I hadn't introduced Utau yet into the fanfiction, I thought I'd pick her. XD Come on, need a little Kutau, now don't we?

I apologize that I didn't update last night. Had to go to bed early... Damn CE retreat and having to get up earlier! -Raegmoment- And I was still somehow almost late... v_v

I hope Tadase's and Amu's date didn't drag on too much. I think I'm going to skip the amusement park and everything else and go right into the Monday, since I find it's dragging a little. I tried to keep it less focused on them, though. XD Little bit of plot, bit of Rimahiko, and some Kutau. 3

READ AND REVIEW KTHXBAI.

Kuku-chan out~

EDIT: I have gone through and fixed any layout problems I'd had; sorry if it confused any of the readers. I'm still trying to figure out why it wasn't automatically converting to the lines, bu t... yeah.


	6. The Failed Joker?

**A/N:** I am so, so, SOSOSOSOSOSO sorry it has taken me like, forever to update. I have had nothing but computer issues, first beginning with my 80gb drive – therefore making me have to rewrite the entire part of this chapter up to the end of the scene with Utau – and then a second drive failure resulting in my losing... ... ... the Utau scene and a lot of stuff after it. The second failure meant I was out a computer for quite a while, and of course, it happened RIGHT when summer break started, too.

Thankfully, I got a netbook for my birthday, so now that I've installed OpenOffice on it, I'm able to update chapters. So long as my keyboard quits going all screwy-fucky on me. Yes, that IS a word. Deal with it. I did figure out how to fix it, but it's still pretty damn annoying.

Oh, and if any Shugo Chara roleplayers are out there reading this, drop me a PM. :3

* * *

Monday turned out to be an irritatingly long-winded and eventful day, to say the least. We'd covered a lot of material in an extremely short amount of time, which meant my brain was pretty fried when I left the classroom with Tadase, eventually meeting up with Nagihiko, Ayaka, Rima, and Kuukai. Ayaka and Nagihiko had at some point decided to continue their interrupted basketball match today, and despite the homework attempting to burn a hole in my schoolbag, I complied to watch the match. Nagihiko – who was dubbed "officially down by 1 point" according to their last bout managed to score only one basket, minutes before we all decided to call it an evening and head home.

When I got home and dropped my school stuff upstairs in my room and changed into more casual clothing for supper, I noticed a plain white envelope on my desk, with my name written in a beautiful, neat script on the front. Frowning, I opened the envelope and found a brief note, in the same cursive, elegant script, folded into a perfect square.

_Call me when you get this._

_~ Ikuto_

I dropped the paper as if it was suddenly scorching hot and threw the envelope down with it, racing down the stairs to the kitchen where my mother was preparing dinner. Skidding to a stop, I immediately interrogated her.

"**Ikuto was here?"** I squealed, and she nodded, clarifying that since I hadn't been home when he stopped in that she'd leave his note for me. I frowned. He was in town? _On what business?_ I wondered, instantly becoming inquisitive. Thanking my mother, I pedalled it back up to my room and sat down on the bed. I could feel myself blushing furiously about the note. Ikuto being in town meant he probably wanted to see me... and I hadn't seen him in so long, either. Instantly I felt the depressed feeling of how much I missed him, even though he spent most of his days teasing me, anyway.

* * *

When I returned back up to my room after dinner hoping to finish some (or possibly all) of my homework, I found a single but apparently "urgent" text message from Utau, asking me to meet her at her favourite ramen shop. The thought of ramen made me cringe, since I'd just eaten, but I knew exactly the place Utau was talking about. Before I could reply, however, I found a second "urgent" message from her.

_It's about Ikuto._

_~ Utau_

I could have sworn I was out of the house faster than it took a coyote to pounce its prey.

Upon arriving at the ramen shop, I picked a masqueraded Utau out of the crowd; despite how well-hidden she was, her facial (read: jealous Ikuto-fangirl) expression was enough indication to me as to who she was. Strolling up to her as casually as possible, I waved a greeting with a small "hello" to her, but her gaze didn't waver. Following it, I completely understood her lack of social interaction when I saw what she was seeing.

My jaw dropped metaphorically to the floor in shock. Ikuto was sitting at a picnic table, his chin resting on his loosely-folded fingers and his face bearing the ghost of a smile. Across from him sat a teenage girl, roughly the same age as him, holding a bright-red lollipop in her right hand. The left side of her lower jaw was resting at a slightly sideways angle on the heel of her left hand, seeming bored yet comfortable. Her hair and clothing style was completely outrageous: she had bright purple locks tied up in two cute ponytails on either side of her hair, curling downwards towards about her ears. Her sideburns also curled down to just past her chin, with her bangs swept to the left side of her face. She was clad in lace-up platform boots in charcoal grey, which reached up to just below her knee. She also wore fishnet leggings in black, with a grey-and-white miniskirt that resembled plate skirt-like tassells, with a studded black belt. Her upper extremities were clad in a corset-like top with a black tank top underneath. The corset was charcoal grey, with attached off-the-shoulder sleeves in a shade of medium grey.

"**Any idea who that thieving little heathen is?"** Utau queried, her tone that of a stiff and jealous fangirl. I felt a short chill run down my spine at her tone, then watched the duo at the table a bit more intently. The girl was talking, and I could see Ikuto chuckling about whatever she was saying.

"**My jealousy radar is at full receptionnnn~! Oh no, it's off the charts!"** El hollered, but Il quickly shut her up with her "Flying Bastard Kick" – essentially, a flying kick to the head – which sent El spiralling away in the air to be caught by Ran and Suu. I was almost glad Il knew how to control El, because Utau's little angel-chara was surely a handful. _Kind of like Utau can be at times,_ I thought, but didn't voice aloud. I shook my head about Utau's former question.

"**I don't recognize her at all,"** I said with a sigh, but Dia soon flew over and tugged a strand of my hair to get my attention. I turned in her direction just as she flew towards the nearby news stand. There, on the front of one of the magazines, was the same gothically-dressed purple-haired girl. The only difference in the image was, of course, her outfit, and the fact that she had a bass guitar hanging from a shoulder strap at her hips and that her right arm was around the neck of a standing bass, with her left hand on the neck of the guitar. In her right hand was a bow, and in her teeth, a guitar pick.

The moment Utau saw the magazine, she was over at the stand in a flash, purchasing the magazine and scuttling back over to where I was standing, looking rather perplexed at her actions. With uncanny speed she flipped through the magazine to the spread about the odd girl, a (devilishly fangirlish) smirk spreading across her face.

"**She's some big-time bass player for a band... 'Pale Alice' is her stage name."**

"**Kind of like you as Hoshina Utau, when you're really Tsukiyomi Utau?"** I clarified, my voice low and only audible enough for her ears.

"**Shh!" **Utau hissed, her arms flailing. **"That's a big time secret, so shush, will you?"** I'd cringed back for fear that Utau might smack me or something, but when I opened my eyes, Utau's nose was firmly stuck in the magazine, reading like crazy about this 'Pale Alice' character.

"**You've helped me with what I needed. You can go home now, Amu. Later."** Without giving me any chance to say anything, Utau walked off through the crowd, her nose still glued to the magazine. Slightly confused, I shrugged and headed off back home.

* * *

Tuesday was more than just a hell day for me. Because I hadn't finished my homework, I was stuck cleaning the classroom after school, as well as organizing the bookshelf. Once the end of class rolled around and Tadase came over to my desk, I was dead-brained. I was rather thankful that we'd had a workperiod, and I'd worked like a madwoman and finished yesterday's and today's work so I didn't have any to worry about tonight. Despite that, I still had to clean the classroom, much to my dismay.

"**Do you want some help organizing the bookshelf, Amu-chan?"** Tadase offered, and I quickly sat up, waving a single hand.

"**No, no, that's all right, Tadase-kun,"** I replied with a smile. **"Don't trouble yourself, really. I can handle it on my own."**

"**It's no trouble,"** he replied for a smile, and I knew now that despite my efforts to keep him from doing work he didn't need to, he was going to help me regardless. I flushed slightly. Tadase was so kind , so good to me and everyone he knew... I almost wondered how he could be such an amazing person. He really did hold the aura of a prince, that was for sure, though with good reason would I never tell him that, because if I tried to, he'd just end up performing a Character Change – against his will, of course – and the situation would quickly degrade.

Sometimes, I really hated Guardian Characters. That sort of situation was one of them.

I thought for a moment, though. If Guardian Characters hadn't existed... I wouldn't have met Tadase, Nadeshiko, Nagihiko, Kuukai, Rima, Kairi, and Yaya... I wouldn't have met Ikuto either, and I wouldn't be pretty good friends with a young superstar (Utau), either. My life would be totally boring, and I probably would have switched schools again. It was because of my Guardian Characters that I'd finally made friends that I could be normal around, that wouldn't adore me because of the outside persona I put on. I finally had people I could open up to.

Another thing was that I probably wouldn't be so... Attached to Tadase in the same manner if he'd had another character other than Kiseki. I still remembered the first day we'd met, when Ikuto had tried to take Miki's and Suu's eggs before they'd even hatched. Back then, he'd been the "creepy cosplay cat-boy" to me, but I remembered when he'd tried to attack me... and Tadase had leaped in front, with a Character Change, and used his Holy Crown to protect me. I also remembered falling from the sky and Tadase using his Holy Crown to catch me. Mentally I flushed at that thought. I wouldn't have done so many awesome things with Tadase and the others without the Guardian Characters.

"**Amu-chan?"** Tadase queried, and I was instantly snapped out of my thoughts. The classroom was now empty except for the two of us – even our teacher had left – and I was off daydreaming in some other world. **"Is something the matter?"**

"**Not at all, actually. I was just remembering something, that's all,"** I replied with a chuckle, this time actually telling the truth. He smiled that princely smile at me, and I felt my insides melt. Tadase seemed to literally sparkle whenever he smiled like that, and it just made me all mushy inside.

Jee, I really needed to stop doing that.

"**Time to clean!"** I declared, and quickly went up and down the rows of desks, picking up pieces of paper, pencils, and other miscellaneous paraphernalia from the floor. Thankfully there wasn't any dirt on the floor, so I didn't have to worry about sweeping it. Plus, the janitors would do that anyway, so it wasn't part of my job description. Tadase was busy pulling all of the books off the bookshelf and setting them on a nearby table so we could organize them.

"**Tadase-kun,"** I started as we began putting the books on the shelves, Tadase focusing on the top two shelves because he was a bit taller than me, while I put books on the two bottom shelves. **"Thanks for helping me clean. You really didn't have to,"** I said, blushing a little as I said that. I was really, really thankful for his help. He stopped for a minute, looked at me, and smiled again.

"**I don't mind if I'm helping _you_,"** he said, and I flushed an even darker shade of pink. Just then, I heard my cell phone vibrating on my desk, but I ignored its pleas for me to answer the text message I'd received for now. Once we finished the bookshelf, I stretched my arms up high with a small yawn and walked over to my desk to check the text message.

_Go to **that** place after school. I'll meet you there._

_~ Ikuto_

I flushed slightly and flipped my phone shut, putting that thought in the back of my mind. Ikuto wanted to meet me? Well, I guess I'd kind of predicted it...

"**Amu-chan, are you coming to watch Nagihiko and Ayaka play basketball again? They probably haven't started yet, so we should still be able to make it in time,"** Tadase asked, and I hurriedly tried to think of a good reason other than the fact that I was going to meet Ikuto that I could get out of watching their match.

"**Ah, no, I'm going to go home and do today's homework so I don't have to clean the room again tomorrow,"** I said with a light chuckle, scratching the back of my head nervously. Tadase smiled at me and nodded; I was glad that he'd bought my quickly-thought-up excuse. Waving, he left the room, leaving me to my own devices for the time being.

* * *

Upon arriving at where Ikuto had told me – ad if I wouldn't know where he'd meant! - I was considerably eager and ecstatic. I didn't pay an admission, therefore I waited outside, leaning up against a nearby tree in wait. To be honest, I was a bit fidgety because I was impatient. Although I wouldn't have admitted it to anyone, I _really_ missed Ikuto. Sure, he liked to tease me, a _lot_, and he was kind of annoying and a pain sometimes, but he was also kind and fun to be around.

I was abruptly jostled out of my thoughts by Ikuto's face seeming to zoom in freakishly close to mine.

"**Yo, Amu," **he greeted, and I squealed slightly and shied away, blushing uncontrollably. He'd scared the living daylights out of me! He laughed at my antics, hiding a smile behind his hand and pretending to act shocked that he'd scared me. I instantly became defensive in an attempt to cover my embarrassment.

"**Jee, that's a nice way to greet someone you haven't seen in months!"** I hollered, my arms crossed stubbornly over my chest. **"I haven't seen you in months, and you choose to scare the living daylights out of me?"** There it was, my obstinate and stubborn character surfacing again to cover for me when I was embarrassed.

Appearing to compose himself, Ikuto put on his best poker face and gestured to the park with one hand, the other holding out a ticket to the park. A ticket for me. I instantly felt sorry for acting like kind of a jerk, my face still redder than ever that he'd been so close to me. He sure liked to tease me, that was for sure...

"**Here,"** he said, looking away from me and looking either sheepish or embarrassed, I couldn't tell. I knew Ikuto wasn't good at apologizing or showing affection through things, so he always acted casual about it, or at least, he tried to. I remembered when he'd brought me a bag of treats after ruining the fruit tart I'd been making with Nadeshiko for Tadase... Yoru had been the one to point out that he was trying to say sorry for ruining the tart. I took the ticket, and he started to walk towards the ticket booth. Following him, he produced a second ticket, a ticket for himself, and I used the one he'd bought for me, still feeling a bit overwhelmed by the gesture.

"**You didn't have to buy me a ticket, Ikuto,"** I stated plainly, still feeling slightly overwhelmed that he'd done such a thing. I'd been taken completely off guard by the gesture, as it wasn't something Ikuto did without good reason.

"**You wanted to ride on the rides, right?"** He asked, his tone betraying the fact that he was overly embarrassed about the whole thing.

"**Well, yeah, but-"**

"**Then let's go ride some rides."**

We spent quite a while riding the rides, going through every ride at the park as was possible. I couldn't remember a time where I'd had as much fun in my life as I had at this amusement park... There had been a lot of things that happened at this park. I remembered first when Ikuto took me here, and Yoru turned on the temporary power... That had been a lot of fun. The next thing I remembered was running into Tadase as we were fighting Ikuto, when he'd been unable to control himself... That had been just after Ikuto had hurt Tadase, only days after Tadase had confessed to me. I'd been so angry with Ikuto about that... I was over it now, but the look on Tadase's face still haunted me from time to time. It was something I didn't want to experience again, at least not in the near future.

Of course, this park had also been where we'd made up after Ikuto had escaped, too. That part made me happy. There had been other times we'd come here, too, but I didn't remember most of them all too clearly. Maybe it was because I didn't want to remember them? Or they were just slipping my mind? I wasn't entirely sure...

Exiting the park, I realized I felt quite tired after riding all of those rides. I sat down on the bench, while Ikuto stayed standing, leaning against one of the trees. There was a heavy silence between us, one I didn't like...

And one that was quickly broken by Miki's call.

"**Amu-chan!"** The artist's voice called out, followed in consensus by Yoru's ears twitching as he flew over to Ikuto. I snapped directly out of my thoughts as Miki and Yoru both called out saying there was an X-Egg nearby. I looked at Ikuto and with a single nod, looked to Ran.

"**This way,"** Ikuto said, and I followed him as he ran towards an alley where we could at least perform our Character Transformations without being in the middle of a public place.

"**My own heart..." **I started.

"**My own heart,"** Ikuto followed.

"**UNLOCK!"** We both cried in unison, Ikuto perform a transformation with the aid of his Dumpty Key, I myself with the aid of the Humpty Lock.

"**Character Transformation: Amulet Heart!"**

"**Character Transformation: Black Lynx!"**

The both of us moved in unison towards not one, but a pack of X-Eggs that were roaming towards the expansive public park, mostly towards the heavily tree-dense area of it. I wasn't just on the lookout for more eggs, however; my eyes were focused to try and find that odd white-haired girl that seemed to have a tendency to appear out of nowhere. Maybe Ikuto would know who she was? I wasn't sure, but hell, he could be pretty resourceful if he wanted to be.

"**Where are they headed off too, I wonder?"** Ikuto queried quietly, his face showing focus and determination.

"**I don't know,"** I started, my voice carrying a warning. **"But we have to be careful. Lately there's been an odd girl about who's been somehow attracting X-Eggs to herself... And capturing them for some purpose."** I heard Ikuto's shocked gasp as he probably thought about what the reason could be... I knew it couldn't be Easter behind it. Hikaru, who was actually the brains behind Easter itself, was a member of the Guardians now, which meant that it surely couldn't be Easter performing such deeds.

"**Easter?"** He queried, but I shook my head.

"**No. You remember Hikaru, right? He's a member of the Guardians now, with Yaya and another girl, Rikka. I don't know who they found to fill the Jack's spot, but I don't think he'd be wanting to be trying to find the Embryo through those sorts of methods anymore."** I trusted Hikaru, really. I could see that he'd changed, which was the biggest part of my trust for him. **"The only way it could be indirectly connected to Easter would be someone who used to be an associate there and was fired, or left, or something. Someone who knew about their methods to draw out X-Eggs."** Ikuto's face hardened at that. He clearly didn't like the thought of someone being used to do such terrible things... Mostly because he had gone through such a thing, and it was clear he hadn't been happy to do such things, despite the fact that he obliged.

"**Well well well, the little cheerleader and her alley-cat boy have come out to play?"** A taunting female voice spoke from nearby, and the both of us stopped in our tracks, looking to see where it had come from. We could see nothing around us... Nothing at all. It was dead air.

"**Phantom Strike."** The woman's voice came from behind us, and the next thing I saw was Ikuto sent flying with what looked like an explosion of light. He was sent rolling along the ground, looking as if he was in quite a bit of pain.

"**Ikuto!"** I cried, then turned to the woman, summoning my Heart Rod to my hand with a look of determination on my face. **"You're not going to get the X-Eggs!"** I said, looking confident and defensive. All the white-haired cat girl did was laugh... Laugh at me. I could hear Ikuto moving behind me, which made me keep my stance even more.

"**Well, if this kitty cat can pull the wool over the eyes of the alley cat, then I guess I'll be able to take you down with relative ease, too,"** she said, her tone absolutely mocking. **"You think you can stop me? You think you've got the ability to stand up to someone like me? Don't be _stupid_. Just because you hold the Humpty Lock, and just because your little alley-cat friend there has the Dumpty Key doesn't mean you're all powerful!**

"**RADIANT STRIKE!"** She cried, and extended a palm out in front of my face. I felt myself soon blasted backwards, performing backwards somersaults in the air and trying to regain my balance. Thanks to the sport-like abilities Ran's transformation gave me, I was able to regain my balance next to Ikuto. All that woman could do was laugh... I saw her up close now. She had green eyes... But wait. Hadn't she had amber eyes before, like mine? Catlike in nature, too? And the first time we'd seen her... She'd had green eyes. It looked as if her outfit had changed, too, and she was using different abilities than before.

What was going on?

I blinked for a second, shaking my head. Wait a second. She'd just disappeared again! I stood up and place myself at Ikuto's back, thinking quickly on my feet. **"She won't be able to catch our blind spots if we cover each other's, right?"** I said, feeling rather happy that I was thinking on the spot like that. I glanced around. There was no presence in the area but the two of us... Not even the presence of the X-Eggs. _Oh man... She got them already,_ I thought, feeling absolutely defeated.

"**The X-Eggs are moving away, Amu,"** Miki pointed out.

"**She already got them, it seems,"** Dia added. I released my transformation with Ran, a look of defeat on my face. Wasn't I supposed to be the Joker? The trump card? Wasn't it my job to keep these sorts of things from happening? Why was I failing like this, after I'd had such a good track record?

None of it made any sense to me.

* * *

"**Ahhh, nothing like chugging down a cold glass of milk after a warm bath,"** I said mostly to myself as I leaned on the balcony of my second-storey small patio that led out from my room. I was dressed in my usual towel-dress that I wore before I went to bed, my wet hair pulled back into a ponytail and my bangs held back by a towel-material headband. I sighed as I thought about the sight I'd seen yesterday with Ikuto... Something was weird about it, and I just couldn't quite put my finger on it. I felt a pang of jealousy – though I refused to admit that it was indeed such – as I thought about that other girl, and banged a fist on the balcony. I'd put my feelings of defeat behind me

"**I'll just ask him about it!"** I told myself confidently, knowing full well that there was no way in _hell_ I'd be able to work up the courage to do such a thing.

"**Ask who about what?"** A silky voice said from behind me, and I swore I screamed and jumped back, blocking the entrance to my room.

"**Intruder, intruder, away with you~!"** I squealed, flailing my arms and jumping back and forth in front of my door, my eyes for some reason squeezed shut. Hearing familiar laughter, I stopped, frozen in place, and opened my eyes.

Oh... Great. It was Ikuto. And I'd just made a fool of myself.

"**Nice going, Amu-chan,"** Ran whispered in between giggles in my ear, and I obstinately swatted her away. I could hear her laughing in the background, along with Miki's giggles to add to it.

"**Yo!"** Yoru greeted, waving both of his front paws happily.

"**I-I-Ikuto?"** I stuttered, feeling rather... Underdressed. He was squatting on my railing, looking lithe as ever in his character-changed state. I flushed red at what I was wearing, then narrowed my eyes at him. **"What happened to not breaking my mother's trust?"** I queried sarcastically, feeling some need to make conversation. Ikuto stopped for a moment, smirked, then turned around in the balcony.

"**Sure. I'll be up in two minutes." **That was his only statement as he jumped down from the balcony, released his character change when he hit the cement, and rang the doorbell downstairs. Meanwhile, I was hurriedly changing into at least my pajamas, though I didn't bother to run a brush through my hair, as it was still wet, and I wanted to wait for it to dry a bit before I combed it out. A minute and a half later, I hear my mother's call from downstairs, and quickly slipped on a pair of slippers. I had to play it as if I didn't know Ikuto was coming, despite the fact that I did know he'd just rung my doorbell about a minute ago.

"**Ikuto?"** I said, attempting to mimick surprise as I came down the stairs. I think my attempt failed in his opinion, because the look in his eyes just _told_ me that. I just _knew_ it. I tossed him a look saying, _jee, you were the one that randomly showed up outside my window, you know,_ and wearing a bright smile, I managed a friendly "hello". I noticed Yoru wasn't with him this time.. He must've stayed upstairs outside the balcony, as I'd heard Miki whispering something to him about my sister, Ami, and torture in the same sentence, and although Ami was already in bed and asleep, one could never know when she'd show up and begin to torture my poor Guardian Characters.

"**Not too long, Amu, you need to go to bed soon,"** my mom said, then smiled at me and Ikuto and left. The two of us silently made our way up to my room, where we could at least have some peace and quiet. I knew Ikuto would be good; he wouldn't stay too long and keep me from sleeping. That was one thing I liked about him; he might have liked to tease me and such, but he was still responsible. He always treated me like a kid, but in reality, he was one himself.

"**So mind telling me exactly why you decided to show up randomly _outside my window_?"** I demanded, crossing my arms over my chest stubbornly. Ikuto smirked and laughed under his breath, which only made me glare in an even more scorching manner at him.

"**Always with the cold shoulder, huh?"** He asked, and I flushed a light shade of pink. **"I was in the neighbourhood and heard you talking to yourself,"** he said, his face considerably serious, but at the same time, the ghost of a smile lurked across it. **"So has Tadase asked you out on a date yet?"** He queried, and I flushed a bright red.

"**T-T-T-T-T-Tadase-kun and I aren't like that!"** I stammered, and as he chuckled to himself, I puffed out my cheeks stubbornly. Crossing my arms over my chest, I walked past him and over to my bed with a dignified "hmph!", and sat down, looking rather stubborn. Ikuto's gaze followed me to the bed, and soon he came, chuckling at my behaviour.

"**That's not the only reason I came, Amu. I wanted to hear more about that girl earlier... Rei, that was what she called herself, right?"**

**

* * *

**

**A/N:** An extra-long chapter 'cause I feel bad. Man, cool whip, strawberries, and angel food cake does WONDERS for muse. :D

Next chapter, I think I'm going to have Yaya, Hikaru, and Rikka make an appearance somewhere. Thing is, I need an idea for Hikaru's Shugo Chara and possibly a Character Change and/or Character Transformation.

ALL YOU READERS OUT THERE. Send me your ideas. Please? :3 I may include it and I'll credit you for the idea if I use yours. I may use a combination as well, so. :3

Um, I wasn't sure where to add it in, so let's say in during one of the timeskips, Amu said that she called herself Rei. M'kay? Yeah.


	7. The Reveal! Or Is It?

**A/N:** Jee, maybe I should start making review numbers that have to be hit before I update, hmm?

Anyway, time to answer a few anonymous questions and/or reviews...

Shugocharatime: Actually, Tadase wasn't even given time TO understand because Ikuto never explained himself. Like any other person Tadase made accusations, but Ikuto never denied them, which made Tadase think that it was all true. Tadase *did* try to find out what he could, but Ikuto never explained himself, which meant Tadase was left to basically make his own assumptions about things. About Ikuto's appearances, I'm not sure. I don't think he'll make as much of an appearance as he did in the last chapter [what with the amusement park AND the window scenes] but he'll make appearances. How, I can't guarantee xD

Now, erm, back to explaining about this "Rei" character.

And you people who read the last chapter, YOU ALL SUCK. I got no ideas for Hikaru's Shugo Chara. I SPENT HOURS TRYING TO THINK OF SOMETHING. D:

* * *

"**Rei... Yeah, that's right,"** I replied with a nod. **"None of us know the exact details, but whenever there's been X-Eggs around, she's shown up and bested us. Almost all of us, too. I've kind of started to put the pieces together... And I believe it's Kuukai's cousin. Ayaka."**

"**In disguise?"**

I could only nod in reply to that. I hated to think that it could be someone in our inner circle that was the culprit causing trouble, but it seemed like the only logical solution; I always felt a strange negative vibe coming from her, despite how happy-go-lucky things seemed. I wasn't sure if I should instantly blame her, though; she had helped us take care of some X-Eggs, once, and it surprised me that her Character Change had been so extensive. I guess it made sense that when she Character Changed as an archer she would have archer's gear, of course...

"**Hmm..."** I looked at Ikuto's face as he appeared to be in deep thought about the entire issue. Appearing to come to some sort of conclusion, he stood up and walked towards my door.

"**H-hey, wait!"** I called, and he stopped just short of leaving the door. I didn't realize I'd stood up from my bed and taken a few steps towards him in an attempt to stop him from leaving.

"**I have a feeling I'm going to be in town for a while,"** he started, his voice carrying that serious tone it occasionally did. **"I'll keep an eye out and see if it is Ayaka... What does she look like?"**

"**She's got short red hair and green eyes, and she's a bit shorter than me."** Why was I bothering to tell him? _I guess if he's keeping an eye out, that means we'll be able to figure out who it is,_ I thought, but didn't voice aloud. **"Don't go out of your way just to do this, Ikuto, please."**

Ikuto didn't reply at first, but I could hear the "hmph" sound he always made when he smirked. **"Later, Amu."** He was out the door in a flash, and although I followed him, all I caught was his quick wave to my mother and him walking out the door, Yoru following faithfully behind. Seeing that as my cue, I decided going to bed would be a good idea...

"**As if I could sleep anyway, after all that."**

* * *

"**Oi, oi, I think we should go back to Seiyo and visit Yaya, Rikka, and Hikaru after school, shouldn't we?" **Kuukai proposed before school as we all met up in the front grounds of Sekai Middle School. Ayaka was with us as well, and I was only slightly surprised to know that she knew who Yaya, Rikka, and Hikaru were. It wouldn't have surprised me if one of the other Guardians had filled her in on the idea, which meant that she would be coming with us as well. At least, that was what I assumed.

"**M'hm,"** I nodded in agreement. **"Yaya-chan probably misses us, I'm sure, especially since it wasn't just one of us that left, after all,"** I added, kind of admitting that I missed Yaya's child-like presence. Sure, now that she was in the sixth grade she'd be joining us next year, but with her having to deal with Rikka – the new Queen's Chair – and Hikaru – whom I assumed would take the position behind Tadase as King's Chair – she would probably miss all her old friends.

And now that I thought about it a little more... Who was in the position of the Jack's Chair? Kairi had moved back to his old school, and Nagihiko had taken his place when that had happened... Perhaps they'd found another Shugo Owner at the school who would be filling in the spot? I tried to imagine someone whom it could be, but everything was just a total blank page.

Why was it that whenever I needed my imagination, it never chose to work for me, yet when I was flustered my imagination could run so wild it'd give itself a run for its money?

The thing was, I was still pretty bothered by the fact that Ayaka was here. I still was under the belief that she was the culprit behind all of the X-Eggs... Or, rather, the thieving of them. We had yet to see her Character Change or even a Character Transformation with Fugeki, but she'd used a Character Change with Yumi a couple of times... And yet, whenever either Ayaka or the other girl wasn't around, the other always was... Ayaka would be gone, and the strange girl would show up. Yet, put Ayaka on our side, and the other girl wouldn't show. It was really starting to bother me...

I'd have to make sure to bring it up to someone later. Someone I knew I could trust and who would understand.

* * *

"**Tadase-kun,"** I said as we were finally dismissed, having packed my bag with record speed and rushed over to his desk. **"I need to talk to you about something before we go meet the others... Or rather, some_one_,"** I started, and he portrayed a look of confusion, querying me with his eyes. I took a deep breath and tried to formulate my words properly, having already decided the general idea of what I was going to say.

"**It's about Kuukai's cousin, Ayaka,"** I said, my voice suddenly lower as I glanced around, making sure nobody was within earshot. **"I've been keeping an eye out and it seems to me that it's not likely a coincidence that whenever she's around and helping us with the X-Eggs that the weird, white-haired cat girl isn't around, and vice versa,"** I started, constantly glancing around to see if there was anybody around eavesdropping on our conversation. Clearly I'd caught Tadase's attention well, as he was intently listening to my every word, a serious expression on his face. **"Ikuto said he's seen her too; well, actually, I ran into him yesterday on an errand-" - **I hoped my lie was good enough to pass **- "-and we both ran into her chasing after an X-Egg. She basically mocked us and left with the X-Eggs..."** It was then that a depressed look covered my face, showing how much I felt like a failure.

"**I feel like a failure of a joker,"** I said with a sigh, but Tadase was quick to reassure me, shaking his head as he placed a hand on my shoulder.

"**You're not a failure. You've just been put out by someone else who's a bit more craftier. It doesn't make you any worse; you'll learn her tricks soon enough, I'm sure. And if not, you've got your friends to help you."** I actually felt a bit better when he'd said that, a smile returning to my face. I nodded, albeit a bit reserved, and glanced at the clock. **"We should get going before we keep everyone else waiting. I believe what you say, though, Amu; it doesn't seem like a coincidence. I just hope it doesn't turn out the way we're expecting."**

_I hope it doesn't turn out that way, either..._

* * *

"**AMU-CHI!" **Yaya's voice called out as she literally almost ran me over, running towards me and hugging me around the waist like the childlike girl she was. **"I missed you all so much, where have you all been?"** She demanded, and I could only let out a nervous laugh as I felt like I was being squashed to death. I managed to mouth a small "help" to Tadase, but he could only chuckle at my... Predicament. _So much for being a prince and saving the princess,_ I thought wryly, but I knew there probably wasn't much he could do anyway. It was Yaya, after all.

"**Long time no see, Joker,"** another voice greeted me, one which I was all too familiar with. Sanjou Kairi. I was glad to see him, but at the same time, I wasn't... Memories of his confession to me at the airport flashed back to me, and I wasn't sure if I felt sick or just wanted to faint, but my face was surely red.

"**Class prez?"** I said, using what was essentially my pet name for him, because that was the sort of person he was. **"You're back as the Jack?"** I queried, and he pushed his glasses further up his nose, a sign that he was either nervous or unsure what to say.

"**Y-yes, the Ace asked me to return as the Jack so they wouldn't have to leave an empty seat,"** he replied, and Yaya pumped a fist in the air with glee as she summarily attacked Kuukai in a similar manner as she'd done to me. **"With Rikka as the Queen and Hikaru as the King, there was still the Jack's Chair that needed filling, and as a former member of the Guardians... It would have been highly beneficial to aid Yaya in training the new Guardians."** Kairi was back to his serious face, and I smiled, patting him on the back once.

"**You're a good guy, class prez,"** I said, a smile spread brightly across my face. Glancing over, I could see Rikka and Hikari turning around now, but that wasn't what caught my gaze. Yes, both of them were wearing the royal cape... Rikka's was red, and Hikaru's blue... And everyone around knew Rikka had a Guardian Character. There was something else, however, that caught my eye. Hikaru's Guardian Character had hatched! Floating beside his round blonde head was a Guardian Character, with stark silver hair and wearing all white. On this particular Character's clothing, however, were sequins and gems, giving him a sort of sparkle as he moved through the sunlight in the garden. To me, he looked like one big gem, the way he sparkled like a diamond in the light.

All of the former Guardians gasped in surprise, and Hikaru just put on his little smile and gestured to the chara. **"This is Sasu,"** he said, his voice sounding like that of a child, but completely intelligent and professional at the same time. **"My Guardian Character."**

"**Pleased to meet you,"** Sasu greeted, then flew off to where the rest of the Guardian Characters had gathered, probably for one of Kiseki's "World Domination" meetings. It appeared that Yumi and Fugeki were exchanging greetings as well; I'd almost forgotten that Ayaka was with us as well.

"**So this is the Royal Garden, is it, Kuukuu~?"** Ayaka queried her cousin, teasing him with a nickname he apparently didn't like all that much. **"It's so... Majestic. And huge."**

"**Who're you?"** Yaya queried, looking over the red-haired girl almost suspiciously. **"I haven't seen you before, and yet you have two Guardian Characters."**

"**Mizushima Ayaka, Sekai Middle School's Student Council President and Kuukai's cousin,"** Ayaka greeted, and Yaya immediately lightened up at Ayaka's obvious light-heartedness.

"**S-Sekai Middle School's Student Council President? _You_?"** Kairi queried, a look of obvious surprise on his face. When Ayaka looked to Kairi, she suddenly leaped back a foot and was pointing at Kairi as if he were an enemy or something...

"**You! I remember you! You beat me at the speeches last year!"** Ayaka exclaimed, a look of utter competition in her eyes. **"Sanjou Kairi... And I'd never thought I'd find you here at Seiyo,"** she added with a laugh, **"Nor did I expect you'd know my cousin and his friends, either. And so the adversary becomes the friend... Ironic, isn't it?"** I was surprised to see Ayaka acting in such a manner... So this was her more competitive side. Kairi was smirking to himself, it appeared, while the rest of us were out to lunch on the conversation. It wasn't long before the two of them got into a rather deep discussion – about what, I didn't know – and left the Garden, leaving the rest of us wondering what in the world had just happened.

"**Well then, it looks like they've hit it off,"** Nagihiko spoke with a light chuckle. Everybody else was talking around me, while I was off in my own little world. I didn't want to leave Kairi out of what I believed was going on, but at the same time... I didn't want to be throwing accusations out there, either. Especially against Ayaka, mostly because she was Kuukai's cousin. I didn't want to find out how awry that could turn out.

"**You should tell them, Amu-chan,"** Miki encouraged, with Ran's giggle of agreement. Dia and Suu also nodded their agreement, and I sighed slightly, trying to figure out how I'd pull this off. I'd have to tell Kairi about the details later, as he was unintentionally acting as the distraction at the moment, but for now, with everyone here, we'd be able to do something. I almost wished Nadeshiko was here... She would have known what to do. I'd have probably confided in her first before anyone else, even before Tadase.

Raising a hand, I tried to put on my best confident face, and in a moment, everyone turned to me, realizing I had something important to say. I glanced at Tadase and gave him one nod, and he quickly understood. At least that way he'd be able to back me up should I miss any important details.

"**Everyone... I've got something kind of important to say, and I don't know how all of you are going to like it, but at the moment that doesn't matter. All of us, excluding Yaya, Rikka, and Hikaru, have encountered a strange girl lately. The three of you all showed up just after she'd escaped a few weeks ago, but lately she's been showing up in multiple places, almost always somewhere we have been. And yet, whenever there's one specific person in our midst, she is never around, nowhere to be found. She's only showed up whenever there have been X-Eggs present, and even at times she has managed to best us in our abilities. Even myself and Ikuto were unable to hold her back as a tag-team; she managed to defeat the both of us with relative ease. **

"**I don't think any of this is coincidental. While the presence of X-Eggs is a random and unidentified event that we can't predict, the fact that this Rei character has only shown up in the absence of Kuukai's cousin, Ayaka, can't be a coincidence. Whenever Ayaka is not with us, the other girl will show up. Yet, whenever Ayaka is present to aid us, the other girl is nowhere to be found."**

"**That's an absurd accusation, Amu,"** Kuukai replied, and I almost blew a lid. I would have, if he hadn't continued. **"Nonetheless. Ayaka may have helped us, but so did all of our other enemies. I don't like the fact that you're pointing the finger at my cousin, Amu, but I understand where you're coming from. I don't think it's a coincidence, either."**

"**It can't be Easter,"** Yaya pointed out, looking at Hikaru.

"**No. I would have known if it were Easter's doing,"** Hikaru added, shaking his small blonde head. **"The only logical solution I can comprehend is that one of Easter's former employees that was present during the search for the Embryo, possibly in another sector of the world, is behind this. Why they have chosen Japan I am not entirely sure, but it is possible. Why this girl is stealing the dreams of children, I can only guess... Only for the Embryo."** Hikaru's way of speaking always gave me the chills; he spoke like an adult in a child's body, and his vocal sound was that of a child; at the same time, however, the tone and presence he carried was very much an adult one.

"**Ayaka herself doesn't seem like a bad person,"** Rima stated. **"There is something strange going on, and what it is we can't be sure of, but... Things can turn awry,"** she added with a small nod.

"**I believe Amu-chan is right,"** Tadase stated, and I felt glad to hear that at least someone was rooting behind my statement. **"Whether it really is her or not we can't be sure of, but for now, we should all be on the lookout."** Everyone nodded in agreement to Tadase's statement, and Nagihiko quickly shot forward with an idea.

"**Why don't we have someone follow her to find out what it is that she's up to?"** He suggested, and everyone gasped in awe at the idea. **"If we can follow her, then we can find out what it is that she's up to, and perhaps reveal the fact that she _is_ Rei."** Right now, I wanted to run up and hug Nagihiko, because the idea was just perfect. But instead, I took another route: since I had been the one to bring up that Ayaka might be Rei, I thought it would be best if I were to volunteer myself first for Nagihiko's idea.

"**I can take the first watch,"** I said, a strong enthusiasm in my voice. It wasn't long before Tadase offered as well, and I shot a bright smile of thanks at him. Since having more than two people following Ayaka would be essentially too suspicious, it was decided that since summer break would be starting soon – in a few days, actually – that Tadase and I would take the first day of summer break to follow her.

* * *

"**Ahh, it's finally summer break!"** I exclaimed joyfully as Tadase and I met at the park, having found out through the grapevine where Ayaka would be in the morning. Since Kuukai was her cousin, it turned out that they texted each other pretty often, and Ayaka had mentioned something about shopping for her mother's birthday. That idea had been perfect; seeing her at the mall wouldn't be a surprise, especially if Tadase and I could pretend we were shopping together for whatever reason. Despite the fact that we were trailing Ayaka, the two of us were probably going to have a lot of fun; we'd have to look inconspicuous if we wanted to blend into the crowds.

"**It's a nice day out, isn't it, Amu-chan?"** Tadase asked, and I smiled back at him as if to say yes. **"Souma-kun said she would be taking the way through the park to get to the mall, because it's the quickest route on foot.**" He continued explaining the route she'd most likely take, and the two of us took to sitting on a bench, conversing about what we'd do this summer as we waited for Ayaka to arrive. We'd already come up with a code-phrase to say we'd seen her: "the cat's out of the bag" was our choice, considering "Rei" looked like a white cat. It wasn't long before we saw Ayaka; Kiseki was actually the first to notice, as he flew up between us and muttered the catchphrase. I nodded to Tadase, and the both of us casually got up.

As I stood up, Tadase took my hand, and I instantly blushed. Mentally I tried to pass it off as disguise, but I knew that certainly wasn't Tadase's intention. His hands were so warm... I really hoped mine wouldn't start sweating out of nervousness. His skin was also soft, much like my little sister's had been when she was younger... I couldn't help but blush a little more at the gesture, which was only increased when Tadase looked at me and smiled that princely smile that always made my heart leap.

We spent a lot of the afternoon wandering the mall, eventually making our way out to one of the parks in the evening. It was then that I heard my phone start to go off, and I immediately answered it.

"**Hello?"** I queried, and an unsure voice asked for me. It was a call from Kairi! That was something I hadn't expected. He hardly ever called me in the first place, probably because he was so busy. He went on to explain that his sister had agreed for it to be all right for them to host a Guardian meeting at his house. He'd also mentioned that it would be passed off as a "party" for those of us that weren't Guardians anymore, and would consist of all of us spending the night. That idea was perfect! That way, we'd be able to all spend time together, for one, and for two, we would be able to relay information easily about what Tadase and I had seen. So far, we hadn't seen any suspicious activity.

"**All right, I'll call my parents and ask them. I'll tell Tadase to do the same,"** I replied. **"Talk to you later, Class Prez."** Looking to Tadase, I quickly explained the idea to him, and he nodded. With a quick call to both of our parents – Tadase also calling his uncle, Tsukasa, to let him in on the next stage of our plan; Tsukasa had been told everything we'd figured out, and was essentially our cover should we need him – we were ready to go, until we noticed one single thing...

We'd lost sight of Ayaka. Our Guardian Characters were also nowhere to be found. A look of shock crossed my face. Ran, Miki, Suu, Dia, and Kiseki were nowhere around? You'd think it'd be easy for two people to at least keep track of one of five Guardian Characters on our own, but apparently that wasn't the case. It also wasn't likely that Kiseki had pulled them off to some meeting about world domination, either; he might have been a bit of an egotistical king, but he was intelligent, and he knew when to hold his meetings and when the time and place simply wasn't right.

"**Maybe they went into the forested area,"** I suggested, and Tadase nodded in agreement. The both of us began to search high and low in the forest, sticking together lest we end up losing each other in the trees. Having found nothing, we returned to the path, I myself feeling somewhat distraught.

"**They couldn't have gone far,"** Tadase said as we both tried to catch our breath from all the running we'd done.

"**I wouldn't be too sure of that,"** a voice behind us said, and I hardly had time to react as we were soon bound in threads of light.

"**Golden Noose. You know, you two really are clever, but surely not clever enough to beat me,"** Rei spoke, and I instantly stiffened, struggling against the bonds that held the both of us. Rei walked around to stand in front of us, looking at us with bright, lethal green eyes. They looked almost exactly like Ayaka's... But wait. Hadn't Rei's eyes been amber before, like that of a cat? Tadase must have noticed the same thing, though Rei could only apparently laugh at us and our weak state.

"**My my, so this is what the Humpty Lock is... And they call you the Joker. How pathetic, if the Joker can't even keep track of her own four eggs. Even the little prince can't do his Character Change when you say prince, now can he?"** I glanced over at Tadase as she said that, and despite the look of outrage on his face... He wore no crown. He hadn't performed a Character Change. And she'd said "prince" twice in one sentence.

"**You see, Easter and Nikaidou taught me a lot of things, or rather, those who worked for him,"** she continued, lifting up Tadase's light blue egg to reveal white tape in the shape of an x on the front. I recognized the tape. It was the same tape Nikaidou had used to tape up my eggs when he'd stolen them... She soon brought out Dia's egg, and I struggled more against the bonds.

"**Ran! Miki! Suu! DIA!"** I cried, and Rei only laughed. **"Let them go, right now!"** I demanded, and instantly felt the bonds around me tighten. I could hardly breathe with how tight they were; my arms were squished to my sides, and I felt as if my chest were about to collapse.

"**I guess I'll take this pretty little trinket you've got, too,"** she taunted, and with one hand, reached forward and tore the Humpty Lock off my neck. I heard Tadase's holler of outrage, soon silenced by the tightening of the bindings around him as well. **"My my, a feisty prince and his helpless little Joker... Or should I say, the princess? Considering she's now a damsel in distress."**

"**I... Won't... Let you... Take... Them..."** I managed to squeeze out, trying to breathe in my constricted position. **"My... eggs... Ran... Miki... Suu... Dia..."** I could feel my body shaking, trying to fight against the bonds, though my efforts were futile. **"And... T-Tadase...-kun's... Too..."**

Rei's laugh was the only thing that greeted my ears as the blackness closed in on me.

* * *

**A/N:** Okay, I have to give a big thanks out to my good friend, Princess-Amon-Rae, for giving me the bread and butter to the idea I'd wanted to leave y'all with a cliffhanger for! So, yeah, you'll be stuck anticipating the next chapter for a while, people! I'm going off on holidays, so I'll be gone for a good two weeks, but guess what: I'll be working on that chapter in the meantime, despite not having a computer.

So, this means the story's starting to reach the climax of the plot. Who is Rei, you may ask? Well, she's got green eyes: what does that tell you?

YES, her eye-colour changing is intentional. You'll see why... In a few chapters. I promise!


	8. Humpty Dumpty

**A/N:** Yep, all my faithful readers, that's right: I'm back!

So I have to say that being at the lake really bumped my muse. I wrote like crazy when I was out there! To be honest, I actually finished three chapters and got some good plot material in there (I don't want to jump into the plot right away, so I'm going to draw it out a little and just let things... brew) for everyone to read.

There's also an Amuto moment in an upcoming chapter for all of you Amuto fans! A bit of Tadamu, too, though it's mostly... yeah. If you hate Tadase, you might like the incident in this latest chapter. If you don't, well, if you don't feel sorry for him, then SOMETHING IS WRONG WITH YOU.

Even I felt sorry for Tadase, and I was the one that put him up to the task! I also got my issues with the horizontal rulers fixed, it appears, so no more weird annoying formatting issues to deal with.

Anyway, enjoy the chapter!

* * *

I could hear something... an all-too-familiar voice, calling my name. Was I dreaming? I felt sort of light, somehow... As if I were a cloud floatin in the sky. It was the same feeling I always got when I would Character Change with Ran and fly... Like a feather caught in a breeze.

Ran. Miki. Suu. Dia. Humpty Lock. Kiseki. Tadase. All at once, everything that had happened in the park rushed back to me, and I could feel myself falling... Drifting downward, lightly, feather-like. The voice became more urgent, worried, and filled with a tear-based choke to it. Slowly, my eyes fluttered open, my first sight being Tadase leaning over me, his ruby eyes full of a deep worry and concern for my well-being. If I hadn't been so out of it, I would have noticed that she was nearly to the point of tears. How long had I been out? What had happened, and where were we?

"**Wh-what?"** I exclaimed, sitting up in an abrupt fashion and nearly colliding heads with the worry-stricken blonde. I suddenly felt dizzy, and woul dhave hit the hay again if Tadase's hands hadn't been there to steady my shoulders. Wait, what? _Hay_? We were in... A cage? Inside a barn? Totally empty of animals?

"**Amu-chan!"** Tadase exclaimed as I sat up abruptly, soon coming around to face me. It was then that I noticed the intense worry lurking in his crimson orbs. He took a long, good look at me, surveying me as if to make sure I was truly all right. I saw relief slowly overcome his features, and closing his eyes with a sigh, he soon hugged me, tightly drawing me into his embrace. **"I'm so glad you're all right,"** he said, his voice low and gentle, like soft vanilla. I felt a lump form in my throat, deeply touched by his concern. I somehow felt comforted by his actions, his gentleness brushing away any fears I might have had. To me, Tadase was a gentle warmth, and his somehow courageous nature, despite how timid of a boy he really was, touched the depths of my inner being... Somehow.

"**Y-yeah,"** I replied, feeling a nervous blush creep up on my cheeks. My own arms wrapped around him almost instinctively. I could feel the warmth radiating from his body, lingering even when he pulled away and held my shoulders at a bent arm's length. **"What's going on? What happened?"** I asked, my voice calm now that he had offered me such comfort, unintentionally or not.

"**Well, we were caught up by that Rei girl's noose trap, and it cut off your ability to breathe long enough for you to pass out... And then, all I can remember is a large flash of light, and I woke up here. You were still out cold... But Rei now has the Humpty Lock and our Shugo Charas,"** he explained, a strange look surfacing in his eyes as he spoke. It was a pained yet sheepish look which I couldn't understand at all; had he done something wrong? I couldn't put my finger on it, at all. Despite that, he continued talking, as if trying to keep me from noticing how he was feeling. **"I'm sorry. I was so powerless, and I couldn't protect you."** So it was guilt, perhaps? So much for avoiding me knowing how he felt. Tadase was guilt-ridden because he hadn't been able to do anything?

"**Tadase-kun!"** I scolded, my tone immediately catching the boy's attention. **"It's not your fault. I couldn't do anything either. If you think that you were unable to do anything because _you_ were too weak, then you're wrong!"**

"**B-but I couldn't-"**

"**Tadase-kun. Maybe you aren't the most courageous person. Maybe you aren't always one hundred percent confident,"** I continued, quickly cutting off his protests. **"But that doesn't matter! You're one of the most pure-hearted, gentle, and caring people I know. You're a boy who's so good, he almost seems _too_ good,"** I started, feeling tears welling up in my eyes. I'd heard Kuukai say the last statement once, when he was talking about Tadase's Character Change. **"Even I can tell, you care for me, so much that it hurts even _me_ sometimes, but in a good way.**

"**But despite that, you try so hard to protect those you cherish. Despite how much you lack courage and confidence, you put forth so much effort and determination to try. You're determined to become stronger. You said it yourself. But you can't be a leader if you're not gentle, like Kiseki said. Your gentle, pure nature is your strongest and best point. So please, Tadase-kun..."** My eyes were full of tears now, threatening to roll down my cheeks at any moment. **"Don't ever stop being kind. And don't let the roadblocks destroy your determination."** Feeling somehow accompolished, I pulled him into my own tight embrace.

"**Well, well, well. No matter how useless the Joker is, she still reassures her weak king,"** a voice from the shadows taunted. Tadase and I both jumped apart and stiffened in unison, turning toawrds the voice. Out of the shadows stepped Rei, a white bag slumped over her shoulder, reminiscent of a schoolbag. In her hand was Kiseki's egg, and I could hear the King-like Chara's yammering and protesting. His egg has the special tape on the front, and Rei had a sly, dangerous smile across her face.

"**Maybe I should crush this egg where it is now... See how long the Kiddy King lasts without his precious little self, huh? Then we'll see him for who he really is. A coward, unable to protect those he cherishes."**

"**You're wrong!"** I screamed, anger welling up inside me.

"**Oh, am I?"** Rei taunted, laughing at my inferior protests. **"The pathetic Joker thinks she can burst my bubble, hmm? Despite the fact that even if you were in possession of the Humpty Lock, and with the Dumpty Key at your side, you still were no match for me. Admit it; the both of you are just a pathetic excuse for a Joker and her weak Kiddy King.**

"**Neither of you deserve your would-be selves. Especially the boy."**

* * *

"**Hmm?"** Rima was checking her cell phone again when she noticed a call coming through. A call from... Tadase? The petite blonde's eyebrows shot up as she put the phone to her ear. **"Hello?"** She queried, but there was no answer. She was about to hang up and brushed it off as picket dialing when the sound of familiar yet sadistic-sounding laughter greeted the earpiece. **"Everyone! Come here, quick!"** Rima called, as everyone was scattered around the apartment, conversing with each other. Hurriedly she turned her speakerphone on and set the phone on the table, signalling for everyone to be quiet and listen.

"**...Pathetic... fulfiling sight, seeing the... down on his... I might feel sorry for you if you weren't... beings."** Although it was difficult to understand what was being said, the voice of the person speaking was very familiar... Rima knew she'd heard it somewhere before, but where, she had not the slightest clue.

* * *

I stared blankly at the remnants of Kiseki's egg on the floor as the egg literally turned to dust and melted away. I was in shock. I couldn't believe it... She'd just crushed someone's dreams, but not just anyone's. She'd crushed the would-be self of someone who had done her no harm. Someone who did nothing but good and offered nothing but forgiveness. Someone too pure-hearted for his own good sometimes. I felt nothing but burning rage surge through y being. Blinded by rage, I nearly threw myself at the cage that kept us trapped.

"**How could you do that? _Why_?" **I screamed, furious. Rei simply laughed.

"**Because it's fun to play with the weak,"** she replied. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Tadase fall to his knees. He was mortified. Feeling compelled by some outside force, I ran towards Tadase, recognizing all too well the look on his face. He was honestly and truly upset... His cheeks were flushed, the rest of his face a pale white. His eyes were wide as dinner plates, his breathing showing the apprehension he felt. Tears had welled up in his eyes and flowed down his cheeks, making small drips on the floor in front of him.

"**Tadase-kun!"** I called, but my forward progress was soon reversed by a blast of white energy throwing me back and away from Tadase. I skidded a few feet away, but soon got up again, determined to reach the blonde no matter the roadblocks in the way. I couldn't remember how many times I got up, only to be knocked back again. By the end, I was laying a few feet away from him, panting fro exhaustion. I slowly started to get up, looking directly at Tadase. Our gazes locked, and I could see that his was full of pain, anguish, and sadness; his eyes simply shone with it.

"**Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall... Humpty Dumpty had a great fall. All the king's horses and all the king's men couldn't put Humpty _together AGAIN_!"** Rei snarled, a hateful, dangerous smile spread across her lips. Despite how weak I felt, I shook with rage. **"Time to finish you,"** she said, raiding a hand to use her attack again. I mentally expressed how sorry I was to everyone, and how I failed as a Joker... This was going to be my end, wasn't it?

"**Aurora Borealis!"** Rei cried, and I squeezed my eyes shut. Put the pain never came... I realized I'd gotten to my knees when I'd tried to get up again, and that someone now had arms wrapped around me, using their own body as a shield to protect me. Slowly I opened my eyes as the white energy cleared, looking into the face of my benefactor.

It was Tadase.

"**Are you... all right, Amu-chan?"** he asked, his voice shaky from defending me like he had. Shock overcame my features, and I looked him directly in the eyes, my expression that of fierce determination.

"**Don't let her... Don't let her tell you you're weak, Tadase-kun. Never,"** I managed to squeeze out. Rei watched, then laughed her dark cackle again.

"**Cute. Even without his would-be self, the Kiddy King fights to the bitter end for his failed Joker.**" Her words seethed with animosity as she spoke, cutting through the air like a knife through butter.

"**Oi," **an aloof voice spoike from behind Rei.

"**Only I can call him that."**

* * *

**A/N:** Okay, so it was a short chapter, I know. But I'm working on typing up the other chapters soon, so shush, y'all. I can excusably have short chapters if I've got more coming... right? Well, two more coming in the next couple days, hopefully. It really all depends how tired I am. I mean, we've got a lot of work to do around here. T_T damn relatives coming to visit.

Anyway... Yeah, cliffhanger. I'm a cliffhanger bitch. Deal with it.

And if you don't feel even the slightest bit sorry for Tadase, then you are heartless. Period. T_T

Kuku-chan out {for tonight}~!


	9. Unknown Swords

**A/N:** So I bet that most of you reading this are wondering why I took so damn long to update.

Well, to be truthful and honest, I wasn't going to update. I really didn't want to, because people weren't reviewing. But guess what? A PM from a faithful reader of this has changed my mind. I want to update this now.

So, if you get a chance, give SaphiraTheDragon a huge thumbs-up. Because she changed my mind, this chapter will be dedicated to her. Love you and thank you for the spark of desire to continue, Saphira~!

Oh, and by the way, I'd originally had this written in a notebook, so... Yeah. I lost the notebook. D: I remember how it started, but I totally don't remember how it went. So guess what? I'ma ad-lib it! [The plot is still going to end the same, though, methinks. XD]

And now, a random statement: Gawd damn it, it's cold here. D:

* * *

I couldn't see what was going on from behind Tadase, but I didn't have to see to know who our hidden benefactor was. Raising my eyes, I could see the relief cross Tadase's face, and I knew he'd come to the same conclusion. That was Ikuto, always there in the nick of time, it seemed. Tadase and I needed to get out of here as soon as possible. I guessed that Ikuto most likely had Yoru with him, so he would be a little better-suited to dealing with this girl than either of us would. Neither of us had our eggs with us, so we were essentially stuck between a rock and a hard place. The only hope we had was leaving Ikuto to deal with the girl.

* * *

Yoru wasn't far away from Ikuto, only flying towards the cage that held his friends captive. Ikuto himself launched into a Character Change as Rei raised a hand, pointing a single finger at him. He didn't hear what odd words she spoke as jets of white energy flew at him, but with his increased speed due to the Character Change, he was easily able to avoid it, jumping onto the second level of the barn-like structure. He ducked behind crates, but Rei was not afraid to smash them; there were quite a few near misses on his parts.

"**Well, well, well. I'd never thought I'd get to see the pot finally knock the blackened kettle off the stove,"** she said, and Ikuto could do nothing but roll her eyes. Couldn't she come up with some better comebacks in this sort of situation? He kind of saw the irony behind it, considering _he_ was more or less a black cat and she a white one... But that wasn't the sort of thing to be contemplating at the moment.

"**My own heart... Unlock!"** he cried, and flashed into a Character Transformation with Yoru as quickly as was possible. He made it just in time enough to avoid another attack from Rei, barely avoiding it as he landed in front of her. She lowered her arm, a cynical smile on her face. His own face was stoic, no emotion showing whatsoever; she, however, looked... It was a look he couldn't explain. He'd never seen that degree of _happiness_ or _pleasure_ as to what she'd done. It was almost appalling to see her attitude towards the situation.

"**Character Transformation: Black Lynx."**

"**So that's you, eh?"** she queried, then spat on the ground in disgust in front of him. He made no move, only kept his eyes trained on her to see what she would do. A smile cracked across her face as she regarded him; it was the darkest, most cruel smile he'd ever seen. It held no real, true emotion, other than a dark, cold, blood-curdling form of laughter. **"You know, I didn't think they'd have someone like you as a rescuer,"** she said, pacing side to side as she spoke. **"But for it to be you... Oh, how interesting. Have you checked home lately? You might find something's... Amiss."** Her amber eyes glinted emerald-green. Wait a minute... Amber eyes, but they resembled emeralds? Emeralds were green... Ikuto blinked, then looked again. Amber. Then they flashed green. He saw silhouettes around her...

"**I don't suppose you're just going to turn around and leave, are you? Because I can't guarantee what happens... I really can't."** She then laughed, a laugh that froze the blood in his veins. He felt his skin grow cold and a sinking feeling forming in his gut. Something... She had something else. Or had _done_ something else. But what could it possibly be? She was eluding to nothing... And she wouldn't, either. The only way to make an attempt to figure it out would be to fight her.

"**I've no need for chat,"** he said first, then moved towards Rei in a blur of speed. She was not slow to react; he felt something connect with the claw on his arm as she, having ducked down, had two blades made of energy protruding fro her wrists. One was blocking his claw, the other held in front of her defensively; it prevented him from attacking her with his legs despite her close proximity. She held fast against his blade, the rod shaking slightly as her hand held it. Wait a moment... A rod?

Were his eyes beginning to play tricks on him? He was seeing things that he shouldn't have been... Was he seeing something real behind the fake, or was he seeing illusions that were meant to trick him? They had no gauge of her abilities yet... Was this really a good idea to be battling against her in this sort of situation, when he had no idea what it was this girl was capable of?

He was sent flying during his moment of failure, rolling along the ground at first then turning to a skid along the cement underneath the hay. It was cold, skinning the bare of his arms and rubbing on the leather of his outfit. At least the leather was thick enough to protect him. He looked up, seeing Rei raising a hand again as white energy gathered above her. She then pointed her arm at him, and he felt a surge of energy hit him. There was no way he could avoid it, even as he made an attempt to stand up and leap to avoid the attack.

It hit him full force, but it wasn't a physical attack like he'd expected. No, other than the pain raking its way over his body, there was more pain; pain of the head. A throbbing ache crept up out of nowhere, leaving him pressing both hands to either side of his head, screaming silently in pain. He could hear Yoru's cries of despair, but they were not heard amongst the pain surging through his head. His entire body shook as he fell to his knees, trying to press the pain out of his mind; it was too much, and he felt himself collapsing just as it stopped.

"**Well, well, well... I see. It worked better than I'd anticipated,"** she commented, though the words hardly registered in the teen's mind. Through his blurred version, he saw her legs, clad in pristine white platform leather boots with silver laces, making their way towards him. A hand, clad in a half-fingered leather glove, reached down and grabbed the fabric around his neck that was left loose. He seemed to hover for a moment, then was thrown, hard, into a pile of crates. He was still dazed from what had happened...

"**It still affects you, even to this day. How quaint."** Her words... They made no sense. _What_ still affected him? An eyebrow raised, though it was hardly a gesture considering his vision was too blurred to even make out her figure. His head was throbbing lightly, and it was a feeling he recalled clearly, though he didn't exactly want to have to go through it again.

Things at the moment were looking grim for him.

* * *

It was quiet outside when we managed to escape. I was shaking, hardly able to stand after being constantly attacked by Rei. Tadase and I waited outside, getting as far away from the structure as we absolutely could. The streets were quiet, as it was clearly later in the day. Once we were far enough away, we stopped, both trying to catch our breath. I didn't think about how Ikuto had managed to find us, nor did I even consider where he'd found out or _how_ he'd found out.

"**Tadase-kun... Are you all right?"** I looked towards the blonde, whose eyes looked... Almost dead. The look in his eyes was bland, without emotion, and he looked as if something crushing had just happened. Well, something certainly had... Was that how I'd looked when Nikaidou-sensei had taken my eggs? How I'd looked when Utau had claimed Dia's egg as an X-Egg and as her own Character? The look in his eyes reminded me of what a person looked like when their egg turned into an X-Egg.

He said nothing; he had nothing to say. I watched as he looked away, the pain clearly too unbearable. I felt rage swell up inside me. That girl... She would pay. She would pay _dearly_ for what she'd done. Causing us trouble was one thing; hurting a friend, deliberately, like that... She wasn't going to stand for it. Her heart went out to Tadase, who clearly wasn't going to be the same again, not after that.

* * *

He stood up shakily, shaking his head to regain control of his sight. It wouldn't do him any good to fight with blurry vision... He had to figure out a way to either get around her and run or to take her out. She was moving towards him, until... She froze. Her whole demeanour changed; she seemed annoyed or irritated, though by what, he couldn't tell. Flashing him a dark smile, she leaped up on to the second level and disappeared, to where, he wasn't sure.

Fully standing now, he took in his surroundings. They were in a building of sorts, converted into a strange prison where Tadase and Amu had been kept. There was something else amiss here, and he had a feeling it either had something to do with Rei's sudden disappearance... Or something else. Something she might have mentioned... But he couldn't quite figure it out. Perhaps his mind was too rattled to do anything.

The sound of a voice at the door caught his attention. He saw a short-haired girl, her red locks just reaching to her chin in the front. She had two Guardian Characters with her, and was carrying a bow in one hand. Over half of her chest was a leather archer's breastplate, her arm also clad in archer's leather and a quiver hanging at her waist. He didn't recognize the gir, but clearly she'd just arrived. Her bright green eyes regarded the taller teen.

"**Are you all right? And who are you?"** She queried, clearly not wasting any time with pointless questions.

"**I'm all right. Don't worry about me."** He didn't answer her second question; why reveal who he was when he didn't know who she was? Turning away, he leaped up high, following Yoru's instructions as to where he might find the eggs he was looking for.

* * *

I could see two figures approaching us, one taller, and the other shorter. From the distance they were at and how dark it was, I couldn't quite make out who was there; however, the slouching, almost lazy cat-like walk of Ikuto gave him away, and the other girl, once they came closer, I recognized as Ayaka. Waving, she split off from him, and he approached us alone. I questioned that. What was Ayaka doing here, where we'd just escaped from Rei? Did that mean that she was really the face behind the strange girl?

"**Ikuto!"** I called, grabbing Tadase's arm to essentially drag him closer. He was nearly in a catatonic-like state, looking more than just broken. Ikuto walked up, handing me three eggs. I recognized them as my first three Guardian Characters: Ran, Miki, and Suu. I queried him for Dia's egg, but he could do nothing, shaking his head. I felt a little downcast, but at least I had three of the four back, right? As for Tadase...

"**Tadase."** Ikuto's voice was firm as he regarded the younger blonde, of whom looked up towards the taller boy. I remembered how close they were... Even after the misunderstandings that had gone on, they were now like brothers again, and I watched the exchange between them, saying nothing. I really had no place to talk; I didn't think there was anything I could say in the situation to begin with. How was I to help?

"**Pick yourself up, Kiddy King. You aren't lost just yet."** Saying nothing more, he looked at me, smiled, and leaped off, using a Character Change with Yoru as always. I regarded that statement. What did he mean? I could see the questioning in Tadase's expression as he wiped his eyes, putting on the strongest face he could. It almost broke my heart to see him trying to hard.

"**Let's go, Amu-chan,"** he said, his voice wavering a bit, but still holding firm. I could still tell that he was a little quieter than usual, but... He was trying. What else could he do? He'd just lost his Guardian Character. He had every right to be hurt, and no matter what, I made a silent vow to myself to support him as much as possible. It was a vow I would keep.

* * *

"**That damned girl is always getting in my way,"** a frustrated Rei ranted as she stormed into the room, staring at the woman seated in the chair with flaring eyes. **"Every single time I've nearly got something accomplished, there she is, and voila, good-bye plan."**

"**Perhaps you just need to deal with her."**

"**How?"** Rei snarled, giving the woman a look that would have melted steel. **"She's always with them, so if I want to even stay under the rug and out of their radar, then I have to make sure she's never around, or I'm completely screwed."** The girl ran a hand through her snow-white hair, clearly frustrated with the entire situation. She couldn't stand being thwarted by the simplest of things. Having to deal with the former Guardians and their little friends was one thing, but...

"**We do have _her_,"** the woman suggested, gesturing to the door behind them. Rei contemplated for a few moments. There _was_ that possibility that they might come in useful. She contemplated that for a moment, walking over to the desk to admire her "collection". Picking up the light-blue one in her hand, she smiled darkly, looking at it with contempt. This one had been easy to subdue... Just a little trickery and the job was done. There were four others on the desk, two of which had matching patterns... One was in shades of purple and black; the other, pink and white. The third one was undetermined; it had a blade on the front, a sword if you would, and was coloured in various shades of silver and white. It even shone like steel. The fourth would have been the most recognizable; yellow, with a black plaid pattern.

"**You _are_ correct,"** Rei replied. **"But what leverage will she have, anyway? Sure, she's got a name and a face, but has she even kept in contact with, well, anyone who would be able to find her in a quick fix?"**

"**Oh, I'm sure she does... I'm sure she does."**

* * *

"**Amu-chan, go over that again,"** Rima asked as they all sat down at Kairi's house, with myself and Tadase explaining what it was that had transpired. I repeated what I'd last said, looking at everyone's faces as the shock registered on them.

"**Kiseki... Was destroyed. Crushed."** I didn't know what else to say. There was no emotion other than pure sadness in my voice, with a hint of a flaring anger behind it. I simply couldn't stand what had happened. This girl... She was unforgivable. Unforgivable in every sense of the word. How could she even care to do something like this? Didn't she realize that what she was doing could easily happen to her, as well?

"**I arrived there just after, but Tsukiyomi Ikuto had already dealt with Rei,"** Ayaka replied, shaking her head. **"I can't vouch for more after that. Once I explained who I was and Ikuto explained his involvement, I came to find the rest of you, and, well, you all should know what happened after that."**

"**Rei still has my egg, too,"** I replied, gesturing to the three Characters that were sitting on the table with everyone else. Dia was still missing, and I wanted to find her. She had more than just a "little" importance to me. Dia was considered a special egg... Why, I wasn't sure. I still had yet to figure that out...

"**Waiting's the only thing we can really do right now, I guess,"** Tadase said, his voice still quieter and more reserved than usual. **"We have to find out what she's up to and beat her at the source."**

"**I agree."**

"**Make that two, Amu!"**

"**Yaya-chan is in!"**

"**I could not have said it any better."**

"**We'll figure it all out."**

"**Yes, we'll figure _everything_ out."**

"**Nothing like doing things as a team, right?"**

Just then, I felt my cell phone vibrate in my pocket. Pulling it out, I checked the message. It was a text message, from Ikuto.

_Utau._ That was all the message said.

* * *

**A/N:** So, like any good reader, if you quit reading after this chapter, I will hurt you. Like, srsly, man. The story's just reaching its climax! And I'm hitting y'all with cliffhangers left, right, and center!

So, yeah, don't quit reading just 'cause you don't like what's happening. Maybe things are going to change? :)

I won't elude to anything more. I shall have you wallow in your "OMG U R SO MEAN WEN U GIVE US DESE CLIFFHANGERS" and get on with life. I love y'all!

Will update when I see reviews, dammit. :/


	10. Sisterly Love?

**A/N:** Well, upon writing this I can see that one person, at least, reviewed my latest chapter. :) Still waiting on a few more~

Anyway. I should probably stress this now while I'm seeing these sorts of reviews come in.

Peeps... Stop asking me about the couples in the story 'n what's going to happen. Right now, as the skeleton of the plot is planned out in my head, there are no "solid" couples. Well, I lied, there's one, but that one's canon according to the end of the manga. But It's still iffy.

You also gotta remember, these kids are in middle school. They're in, like, grade six. Seven for Kuukai. ; I mean, hell, Yaya and Kairi are only in the fifth grade, Rikka and Hikaru are in what... Second? Third? Somethin' like that. Hikaru's a genius boy, though.

So, yeah. This isn't a couples fic like some of you might think. This is what I like to call a "plot fic". Essentially, I'm trying to build it like they would an anime episode or something. Or a manga chapter. So, sorry, no couples. I'll still have fun hinting at them though! 8D

Now, end Kuku-chan rant, return to story.

* * *

"**We're going to need more than just these eggs," **Rei contemplated, looking at each of the eggs she'd gathered in turn. _I need to find someone whose egg will be easy to take advantage of,_ she thought, pacing the room. The other woman sat in the chair, watching her worker pace back and forth, clearly in deep thought. They would need more than just the few they'd gathered... They needed multiple eggs, and eggs that had the ability to perform Character Transformations. Those sorts of eggs were much more powerful than any regular X-Egg, and while the use of X-Eggs would aid, having more powerful eggs would have a much better effect.

"**Why don't you work with what you've built up already?"** the woman suggested, and Rei glared at her. **"Flaunt it, already. It's not like you don't have it, for one, and for two, if you can get close enough..." **She saw realization dawn in Rei's eyes, and she could only help but smile. For now, they had no other leads to pursue in order to further their plan.

"**You're right. Such relationships should help in this situation, and with this plan... I've no worries."**

* * *

"**Nothing that happened makes any sense. What could she possibly want with our eggs?"** I asked. I was sitting outside with Tadase, trying to figure out what it was that had happened. **"If she'd wanted eggs, then wouldn't she have also kept Kiseki's..?"** I blanched as I brought up the subject, slapping both hands over my mouth. Tadase looked up, smiled, and shook his head. I knew it was a forced smile, but I felt reassured by him trying. **"Sorry. But doesn't it just seem amiss?"**

I could see contemplation in the blonde's eyes. **"I guess you're right, Amu-chan," **he replied, a light sparking in his eyes at the thought. Still, to him, it didn't seem likely that was the case... She seemed to enjoy playing with them as if they were puppies that could be kicked with no guilt-ridden conscience left on the tyrant. I was thinking the same thing; she had no conscience, no care as to what happened to them; she wanted to see them suffer. But why? How would that help whatever ploy she had concocted? What could she, of all people, possibly want with them? She couldn't be working for Easter, that was sure; Easter was no longer in such a game. In fact, Easter was more or less on their side. Where, in that case, was this girl working out of?

"**Something just isn't adding up, and I don't like it, not one bit!"** I exclaimed, seeming to fidget in my chair. **"This Rei girl suddenly shows up, then causes us all trouble when we're doing what we always do; helping people. Then, she gets it in her head that she can kick us around like little puppies, just because she's what, bigger than us, better than us? She keeps thwarting us and disappearing out of nowhere, and the only real lead we've got is that she's someone within our own group!"** My voice had raised in frustration, and I tangled both hands in my hair, groaning and sighing. Tadase was looking at me as if I'd either suddenly gone loony or was just having a moment. It was definitely the latter from my perspective.

"**We'll figure it out, Amu-chan. I promise."**

* * *

Ikuto was more than just confused. If he'd had even a little less wits about him, he would probably be shaking at the moment. He didn't like what he'd just found out, and he now knew what Rei had been talking about when he'd met up with her. She had his sister, and both of her eggs as well. Amu and Tadase had only been a decoy, from what he could tell... While everyone had been busy trying to find them, she, or whomever was working with her, had found Utau and taken her. Anger rippled through his being. He hadn't seen his sister in over a year, but to come back to town only to find out something like this had happened... He was stuck between a rock and a hard place, and Rei was at either end of the spectrum.

He had a sinking feeling that if he went after Utau, she'd go after Amu again, or even Tadase. She'd already hurt Tadase... And she was now gunning for Utau. Who was next? Amu? Or one of the other Guardians? Sure, he didn't know the rest of them all too well, but was she targeting Amu, Tadase, and Utau because they were connected to _him_, or was it just because they were the easiest targets? What reason would she have for coming after _any_ of them, anyway?

"**Iiiikuto-kuuuun~!"** a female voice piped behind him as someone clearly shorter than him leaped up and grasped him in an around-the-neck hug from behind. She was practically hanging on him, but he didn't really care; he was used to it, and knew it was just something with the girl's personality. Why did he spend time with her, anyway? Ah, that was right, the orchestra... As an apprentice, he was asked to do everyone's, well, dirty work. This girl played well, and as a result, they wanted her fame to bring out the fame of their orchestra.

"**Ikuto-kuun~ you look so depressed,"** she queried, her voice babyish and high-pitched as ever. **"What's the matter? Why the long face?"** He regarded her for a moment, looking into her bubbling eyes. She seemed genuinely concerned for him, though for what reason, he wasn't entirely sure. What was it to her what was bothering him? They were just acting as friends, essentially... No, wait, that wasn't right. He didn't exactly mind her presence; she was a little clingy at times, maybe, but that was her personality, too.

"**It's nothing you need to worry about,"** he replied, gently untangling her from his neck. Instead, she chose to hang on to his arm, to which he paid no mind. **"Something happened, that's all, and I'm trying to figure it out."** He couldn't exactly tell her what was going on... She wouldn't understand it a bit. She had no idea what a Guardian Character was, or why it existed, or anything like that. He or even Yoru would have noticed if she could see them or possessed one herself.

"**You're sure you can't tell me?"** She queried, dancing ahead of him on her ballet-dancer toes. **"I won't pressure you for it, but if it's something I'll understand, I'll listen!"** Ikuto sighed mentally. He really didn't have the time to put up with this. He watched as she moved up towards him, standing just in front of him on the tips of her toes. Neither of them said anything; silence reigned around them.

"**Ikuto-kun, I..."** He heard her words seem to fail her as her eyes glanced briefly from him to the ground, averting his own for some reason or other. He wasn't sure whether he should move or just wait to see whether she was playing one of her weird pranks on him. She did have a tendency to do that, from what he'd noticed, at least.

Their lips met.

* * *

"**This girl that you're all following gives me a really bad feeling,"** Ayaka commented as she walked home with her cousin, Kuukai. **"I don't know, but Fugeki's been telling me that she senses something, but she's not entirely sure what it is. Something to do with familiarity and a Guardian Character."** Ayaka felt a little off, considering she herself hadn't actually seen Rei face-to-face as of yet. Kuukai, however, was half on his guard. He believed he knew the reason that Ayaka hadn't seen Rei; it was the ongoing belief that Ayaka and Rei were one in the same. In other words, Rei was a disguise created by Ayaka, perhaps through her abilities gained from Fugeki, the only Guardian Character they hadn't seen her use a Change or Transformation with.

Yumi was engaged in a game of sorts, with the aid of Fugeki; the chibi mage would create small balls of crystal in the air, and it was Yumi's job to shoot them with her bow. Daichi was watching carefully, observing their conversation and the things they did to see if he could find any duplicity with _them_. Something just wasn't right about the entirety of the situation they were facing. Something was, to say the least, _off_.

Out of the blue, Ayaka's phone rang, and she scrambled to pry it out of the pocket of her jeans. Flipping it open, she glanced at the caller ID before answering, her face seeming to light up. **"Excuse me, Kuukai, I have to take this."** With that, she disappeared to an area further away, clearly out of earshot of her cousin.

"**Hello?"** She asked, because she wasn't entirely sure if the caller ID was right or not. A voice, filled with static, spoke on the other end. She couldn't understand what was being said. **"Hold on, I need a better signal,"** she replied, and ran to a clearer area where she could hear the voice better. Her eyes light up when she realized who it was.

"**Sis...?"** she cried, clearly not too happy to figure out who it was. Her tone of voice was almost bitter, perhaps rude, even. She hadn't heard from her sister in ages... A very, very long time. And their contact hadn't ended on good terms, either. Her sister had just, well... Disappeared, with something very dear that belonged to Ayaka. Something that she hadn't wanted to part with in the first place.

"**What in the hell are you doing calling me?"** she snapped.

"**Now now, little archer, I wouldn't get so heated up," ** the voice snarled on the other line, her tone sultry and lilting. **"You needn't fret; you probably won't see me any time soon. Although, I do believe you have something that I'm looking for in particular,"** she queried, sounding cynical as ever. Ayaka's hands shook as she held the phone, though not in fear; no, it was in pure rage. She couldn't believe that her sister would even dare to ask such a thing.

"**Perhaps you could consider returning the favour and maybe, just maybe, yours will _return _to you. Or did you forget that she left willingly, because you completely turned from what she was meant to stand for? Because you did nothing but unwise things, and she wouldn't stand by your side should you do that? You do forget that she has a mind of her own,"** Ayaka replied, her voice cold and unfeeling. Her words were like icicles, meaning to cut through her sister's conscience. She knew they would do no such thing**"**; her sister was a vile creature, and had been from the start. What had happened had only made her seem worse in the redhead's eyes.

"**Now, now, you need not be so harsh, girlie.."**

"**Don't you _dare_ call me that! I don't want to have anything to do with you unless it's to show you what I really mean when I say, _I will come back to find you and reclaim what you STOLE from me."_** With those cold, unfeeling words, she snapped the phone shut, taking a deep breath before returning to her cousin. He was looking at her strangely, as if she'd just grown horns or something.

"**What was with the discussion, Ayaka-chan? It seemed a little heated. Who was it?"** She understood Kuukai's concern, but she didn't exactly want to deal with explaining the entirety of the situation at the moment.

The redhead sighed. **"It's nothing you need to worry about. It was just a phone call from my sister, and she said something I didn't like."** Well, that was only half true. Kuukai didn't know the story behind what had happened... Nobody did but those that were involved, and Ayaka had no intention of telling any of them any time soon, either. This was an issue she and her sister needed to work out, and she didn't care how it turned out, so long as she came out on top. She had to be victorious, or she would never live it down.

* * *

"**Well, that certainly went over well,"** the girl lamented, stretching her arms upward. Perhaps she hadn't been successful in that last endeavour, but her latest one... That had worked out much, much better. Sure, she'd been pushed away like any other clingy girl would have been, but she'd come away with more than just a little... Closeness. Opening her hand, she looked at the small object in her palm... And smiled. How easy it'd been to lift it, too! He'd hardly noticed, just like her hardly noticed how different she was away from him.

"**You did well, I think, though you should really be careful with those sorts of instances,"** the boy beside her replied, looking at her through rust-coloured eyes. His shaggy, auburn hair fell around his face in a choppy style, giving him a very rough outlook. She laughed, though it was far from bubbling, happy laughter. It was cynical laughter, the laughter of someone who could have been considered a bit mentally disturbed. He only rolled his eyes at her laughter.

"**I mean it. We don't need them all over our asses for this sort of thing, and I don't want to lose my career. Jeez, you're so careless, you know?"** He stretched, then laid down on the remainder of the bench, clearly bored with the situation. She poked him in the leg, raising an eyebrow at him.

"**You could at least _help_ every now and again. Gawd, I can't keep up with all of them at once like I usually do. Yeah, the illusion's kept up pretty well, but it wouldn't hurt you to at _least_ lend a hand once in a while. Even if you're doing it from backstage,"** she replied sharply. Seriously, he needed to quit being such a lazy ass like he always was. The only time he could actually show some life and energy was performances... Probably because it was the only thing that didn't bore him. He really was an antiquated ass sometimes.

"**Boooooring. I don't want to deal with little kids,"** he replied, rolling over and pretending to snore to show his boredom. She shoved at his legs, pushing him off the bench and onto the grass, standing up as she did so and relishing in the feeling of standing _over_ him like a superior. He was taller than her, after all; when would she ever get such a chance?

"**You know, I could easily stomp your face in right now, and I really wouldn't care,"** she replied, nudging his cheek with her toe.

He raised an eyebrow at her. **"I can see up your skirt,"** was his blunt reply. She kicked him in the ribs in response, and he curled, whining like a little puppy dog. _Oh, for crying out loud, quit acting like a wounded puppy just because you're too lazy to do a damn thing,_ she thought, huffing once then sitting back down. He sat up, giving her a look that said, "you seriously couldn't just ask me nicely?" She wanted to kick him again, but relented; she didn't want to injure her precious toy, after all.

"**Oh, shut up, or I'll gouge your eyes out with a pen."**

"**I like violent girls."  
**

* * *

**A/N:** I felt it was sufficient enough of a time to bring a few more characters into the picture to round out the plot a bit better. I don't know if anyone's figuring anything out, but trust me, even if you ask, I'm not going to tell :) Even I don't entirely know how the plot's going to end.

So, yeah, now that I've regained muse, I've managed to squeeze another chapter out. I don't know how much longer this story's going to be, but I'm trying to draw it out to keep the suspense going, that's for sure. I never actually know what's going to happen in each chapter, to be honest; I just write and follow the skeleton of the plot that forms in my mind as things go. It's a weird conundrum.

Anyway, read and IF YOU DO NOT REVIEW YOU ARE A HORRIBLE PERSON.

Yeah, that's right, I like to see reviews. I ain't gonna update if there ain't no reviews. D:


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